COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - After their demolition of Afghanistan by 116 runs in the first of their Group A matches, there were high hopes for Stuart Broad's England side coming into the match. India, their opponents, had played one match before, also against Afghanistan, beating them by just 23 runs.
England won the toss, and the defending champions chose to field. England looked to have started fairly well when Steven Finn bowled opener Irfan Pathan for just eight, but the Indian batsmen quickly took control. England's attack could not break down the resilient Indian batting lineup, and by the end of their innings they had surged to 170 for 4. Rohit Sharma, in at four, proved the inspiration for his side, with a match best of 55 not out, from just 33 deliveries.
Virat Kohli and opener Gautam Ghambir also helped propel their side to their total, with knocks of 40 and 45, respectively. Pace bowler Tim Bresnan was brought into the side for the match to replace Samit Patel, leaving Graeme Swann as the only spinner in the team. In a match where the spinners were in control, Swann proved the only England bowler to leave with an economy lower than eight. Particularly weak among England's attack was Jade Dernbach, who was hit for 45 runs in his four overs, though he did pick up MS Dhoni's wicket.
After India had reached a respectable total, but by no means an unbeatable one, England came out to bat. Opener Alex Hales was bowled for a duck in the first over by Irfan Pathan, and after that England's collapse began. Luke Wright, who inspired the innings against Afghanistan with 99 not out, fell for just six after, like Hales, playing across the line to Pathan's left arm seam.
It was India's spinners though, that really won the match for them; after spin was introduced in the sixth over, six wickets fell in the next seven. Harbhajan Singh, recalled to the side in favour of Ravichandran Ashwin, recorded figures of 4-12, while fellow spinner Piyush Chawla got 2-13. Craig Kieswetter, batting first, for a while looked like possible hope for England, putting on an innings best of 35, but he too could not play the spin, and presented an easy catch to slip of Chawla.
England's total capitulation in the face of India's spin saw them fall to a lowest ever Twenty20 total of 80 all out, as well as their biggest ever defeat, losing by 90 runs.
Despite this crushing defeat, England still make it through to the Super Eight stage, and have been drawn into Group E, with Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and either Ireland or the West Indies, depending on the result of the match today. India will also play in the Super Eight round in Group F, alongside Australia, South Africa, and one of Pakistan or Bangladesh.
After this defeat, England's odds of winning the tournament outright have been pushed out, and they can now be backed at the top price of 8/1 (a £1 bet makes £8 profit) with Paddypower. India are the second favourites, at 5/1 across the market, behind South Africa, who are priced at 9/2 across the market.
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