(ESPNCRICINFO) – A thrilling debut half-century from Ishan Kishan tore apart the second T20I in Ahmedabad, before a timely return to form from Virat Kohli sealed the contest with 13 balls to spare, as India bounced back from their opening rubber defeat to level the series with an emphatic seven-wicket win.

It was another sluggish deck at Motera, one which appeared, in the latter stages of England’s own innings, to have given up the ghost completely, as Shardul Thakur pointed the way to victory with a split-fingered masterclass in England’s sub-par total of 164 for 6.

But, even allowing for the dew-factor which kicked in under the lights, England’s own bowlers found nothing with which to respond — at least after Sam Curran had launched their reply with an immaculate wicket-maiden that culminated in KL Rahul edging to the keeper for a duck.

That, however, would prove to be a false dawn. Sam remained the pick of England’s bowlers with four overs for 22 all told, and Jofra Archer proved economical while lacking his usual menace. But the remaining three seamers all endured chastening days, not least Tom Curran, who was back in the team after Mark Wood pulled up lame with a bruised ankle, but failed to turn up on a pitch which, to judge by India’s own efforts, ought to have suited his variation-laden style.

Instead, Tom might as well have been transported back to IPL duty in Sharjah, as Kishan ignited India’s powerplay effort by lashing his opening over– the sixth– for 16 runs, including a towering first-ball six over long-on.

It was a continuation of the form and confidence with which he had helped the Mumbai Indians seal the IPL in November, and having whipped his first ball in international cricket, from Archer, off his legs for four, he clattered along to his half-century from 28 balls. He struck four of India’s nine sixes– more than England’s entire line-up could muster between them– and confirmed, at the age of 22, that India’s conveyor belt of preternaturally talented youngsters is once again whirling like a treadmill.

Kohli goes back to basics
Throughout his innings, Kishan had a calm old head at the other end to guide him, and cajole him in equal measure. After back-to-back ducks in his last two international innings, Kohli admitted at the post-match presentations that he had had to go back to “focussing on the basics” to turn his form around– and even allowing for a notable moment of good fortune on 10 — he managed just that with a final flourish that reaffirmed his majesty in this format.

Kohli’s winning hit, a pull over backward square off Chris Jordan, carried him to 3000 T20I runs, and was his third six of the night, along with five fours. Rishabh Pant — overshadowed for once but never outmatched – served up a pitch–perfect cameo of 26 from 13 balls, with two fours and two sixes to reinforce the sense that normal service was being resumed after an off day on Friday.

But on a night when England’s big guns had been spiked by a thinly-stretched but perfectly on-song five-man India attack, Eoin Morgan could find no combination of pace, spin or seam to unlock India’s rebooted batting line-up, one in which Suryakumar Yadav, the second injection of batting from Mumbai’s IPL-winning stable, wasn’t even called upon.

 Roy the lone ranger in flatlining innings
For a man who had come into the series under a fair bit of scrutiny, Jason Roy’s desire to keep throwing the bat in spite of personal circumstance remains a priceless commodity. After opening the series with 49 from 32 in Friday’s uncomplicated chase, he again top-scored with 46 from 35 on Sunday – a scratchy affair while it was being compiled, but an innings that gained in stature as his team-mates’ struggles for fluency were revealed later in the innings.

At no stage of England’s innings was it easy to hit through the line- and by the time Thakur was causing Ben Stokes to tear out what remains of his hair with a diet of scuttling cutters at the death, it seemed nigh on impossible. But not that it stopped Roy from trying, as he flogged the first ball of the second over, from Washington Sundar, high over long-on for six, before avenging Jos Buttler’s first-ball duck with a hoick through midwicket to disrupt Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s length.