England pacer Jofra Archer has said that while he and his fellow bowlers bowled well, the Indian batters were extremely lucky to have gotten out unscathed of their spells. Archer, who delivered his best performance in an England shirt since his return from injury in 2024, bagged brilliant figures of 2/21 in four overs but couldn't prevent India from chasing a paltry 132-run target.

India’s strategy against Archer's final over was cautious, as Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma played him out with maturity.

Abhishek was handed a lifeline on 29 when Adil Rashid spilt a sharp return catch but there wasn't a lot of luck that India batters rode on.

“I guess the conditions just favoured me a little bit more than the other bowlers. The other bowlers bowled well, but the batters were extremely lucky. A few balls, well a lot of balls, went up in the air but didn’t go to hand and probably next game they all go to hand and they’re 40/6," Archer was quoted as saying after the match by The Daily Mail.

Yeah, you’ve always got to try in the beginning, because if you get them three or four down in the power play then usually teams bat differently in the middle. The only way you’re going to know is if you try. We gave it a try, but it didn’t work, so we will try again next game," Archer added.

Capitalising on the reprieve, Abhishek unleashed his power, taking on Rashid with disdain. He smacked the leg-spinner for a four and two towering sixes in successive balls, putting India in control.

Abhishek brought up his fifty in brilliant fashion, hooking a 140.7 kph short-pitched delivery from Jamie Overton over fine leg with supreme confidence.

India and England face each other in the second T20I on Saturday, January 25 in Chennai. Archer would have great memories from the venue, from the first Test during England's tour of India in 2021, when the visitors won by a whopping 227 runs. He dismissed Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah in that game.

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