Shreyas Iyer admits turning point after India suffer third loss under his leadership

India appeared set for their first T20I victory of the summer and a maiden win under new captain Shreyas Iyer before a stunning counterattack from Jacob Bethell handed England a dramatic four-wicket victory in the second T20I in Manchester.

After opting to bat on a ground where England had amassed 304/2 in their previous T20I, India recovered from a slow start to post a competitive 190/7. The visitors tightened their grip on the contest by reducing England to 133/5 in the 16th over, leaving the hosts needing 58 runs from the final five overs.

The match, however, turned in the 17th over when Bethell hammered 29 runs off Ravi Bishnoi, including three sixes, swinging the momentum decisively in England’s favour. The hosts completed the chase with an over to spare.

Despite the defeat—India’s third under his captaincy—Iyer refused to blame Bishnoi for the collapse.

“I think we all know where it went away, but I don’t want to pinpoint any particular player. The way we were cruising until the 15th over, I think we were doing exceptionally well. Then suddenly the momentum shifted towards them, and from there on, I felt it was a cakewalk for them,” Iyer said during the post-match presentation with former England captain Nasser Hussain.

Although Iyer did not name Bishnoi, his comments appeared to refer to the leg-spinner’s expensive 17th over, which also included two no-balls.

The over entered the record books as the third-most expensive ever bowled by an Indian in men’s T20Is. Only Shivam Dube’s 34-run over against New Zealand in 2020 and Stuart Binny’s 32-run over against the West Indies in 2016 have been costlier.

When Hussain asked directly about Bishnoi’s performance, Iyer continued to back the youngster.

“I think one no-ball, I felt he’ll come back stronger. Then the game got away in the 17th over… he’ll have to learn. It was a phenomenal score on this track. Tilak’s phenomenal 24 not out in the final over helped us. But we also have to give credit where it’s due. Watching Bethell, he definitely took on the bowlers,” Iyer said.

Bishnoi overstepped three times during the innings, including on the first ball of his spell in the fourth over, when Bethell capitalised on the resulting free hit with a boundary. The leg-spinner ended with figures of 0/60 from his four overs.

India will look to level the five-match series when they take on England in the third T20I at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.