The 31 balls that won England the game

Jacob Bethell's late assault grabbed the headlines. The decisive spell, though, came much earlier, between overs 13 and 18 of England's bowling innings, when they tactically squeezed India.

At 130/2 in the 13th over on a surface offering true bounce and carry, India looked set for a total well over par. Instead, they stumbled to 190, managing just 32/3 in a sequence of 31 balls as their win probability dropped from the early 70s to the mid-40s. India's captain Shreyas Iyer acknowledged the same shift afterwards. "The way we were cruising until the 15th over, I think we were doing exceptionally well. And then suddenly the momentum shifted towards them, and from there on, I felt it was a cakewalk for them."

On a ground where the average first-innings total since 2020 is 208 - the highest among England's venues - 190 was always likely to be light. England's tactical squeeze through the middle overs ensured it stayed that way, as the hosts cruised home with an over to spare.

India had cashed in on England's wayward bowling in the back half of the Powerplay to race to 65. Shreyas Iyer, among the finest players of spin over the last couple of IPL seasons, was in complete control, using the crease expertly to punish anything off line from spinners. But England wrestled the game back through a sequence of smart tactical calls.

After Iyer had pulled Liam Dawson over deep midwicket with the wind towards the shorter boundary, the left-arm spinner responded by dragging his length back, bowling his slowest delivery and the second widest ball of the day, inducing a mishit that found a fielder on the boundary. India then promoted Shivam Dube with overs of spin still left in the innings, but Harry Brook immediately countered by bringing back Jofra Archer. Archer, whose opening spell had produced nine false shots from 12 balls bowled on a length or shorter, greeted Dube with a sharp bouncer that climbed into the splice and immediately disrupted his rhythm.

Sam Curran and Will Jacks tightened the squeeze with four outstanding overs. Constantly varying pace, lines and lengths, they kept India's batters off balance and conceded just two boundaries in that four-over phase as India were looking set to launch. Against the left-handers, Jacks largely operated from a back-of-a-length band, mixing his pace while generating enough turn when he gave the ball air to make hitting across the line difficult. Curran repeatedly kept the ball outside the hitting arc despite the shorter boundary, bowling 14 of his final 18 deliveries outside off stump and returning 2/15, including the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Dube.

England's plans were backed by the conditions. Old Trafford offered almost 24 cm more bounce for good-length deliveries (6-8m band) than Chester-le-Street on Wednesday. England responded by bowling good length or shorter with 67% of their deliveries, conceding just 6.25 runs per over from those balls while mixing in fuller deliveries to claim three wickets.

England read the surface quicker, won the tactical battle and executed their plans with far greater precision. India had already seen one unbeaten streak end against Ireland last week. Unless they respond more decisively to the tactical questions England posed here, another could slip way at Trent Bridge when they meet next on Tuesday.