Brydon Carse defends Jofra Archer after Tilak Varma's onslaught
What's the story
Brydon Carse has defended his teammate Jofra Archer after the latter had a torrid time in the 2nd T20I against India.
Archer leaked a whopping 60 runs in four overs as England failed to defend their total of 165 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday, January 25.
Notably, Tilak Varma particularly targeted Archer in the second innings, smashing him for four sixes during a nail-biting chase in Chennai.
Match highlights
Varma's strategic attack on Archer
Varma also strategically attacked Archer during the match, hitting two sixes through the off-side and scoop-flicking him for another six through fine-leg.
Notably, this strategy was employed twice against Archer, once in each half of the second innings.
meanwhile, these calculated bursts helped India maintain their momentum in the chase.
Despite this setback for England, Carse praised Varma's performance at a post-match press conference.
Post-match reflections
Carse praises Varma's mature innings
Carse praised Varma's mature knock of 72, highlighting his ability to shift gears on multiple occasions in the game.
"I felt like we got a decent score on the board toward the end. We kept taking wickets throughout the game. But, you know, credit goes to Tilak and I think he played a very mature, smart innings, and ultimately he was the difference," Carse said in the post-match presser.
Teammate support
Carse defends Archer's performance
Carse defended Archer, who gave away more than double England's second-worst figures on the day.
He reminded everyone of Archer's impressive spell in a previous match and suggested that his performance wasn't as poor as it seemed.
"A couple of nights ago, Jofra had an amazing spell up front. I still think he bowled pretty well tonight. He was pretty unfortunate," Carse said, highlighting the unpredictable nature of cricket.
Strategy discussion
England's aggressive approach and series outlook
Despite their aggressive approach not yielding desired results in the series so far, Carse sees no reason for England to change their strategy.
He also found positives in the close finish that didn't go in England's favor.
"It's obviously a defeat, but these sorts of close finishes will do wonders for you going forward for the rest of the season and the Champions Trophy," he stated optimistically about future matches.