IND vs ENG, 1st T20I, 2024-25: Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, and Abhishek Sharma help India secure a convincing victory over England. India take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Brief Scores: IND vs ENG, First T20I: India 133/3 (Abhishek Sharma 68, Sanju Samson 26, Jofra Archer 2/21) beat England 132 (Jos Buttler 68, Varun Chakravarthy 3/23, Arshdeep Singh 2/17) by 7 wickets.
Team India’s white-ball season commenced at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, when they hosted England in the first of 5-match T20I series.
India, who were better in the recent Test matches have been a strong unit in the short form of the game and they continued their dominance in this opening encounter.
Led by brilliant performances by Arshdeep Singh & Varun Chakravarthy, India restricted England to a lowly 132 before their batters chased it down in under 13 overs.
Talking Points: Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy
While it was Arshdeep Singh’s start with the ball that set tone for a dominating performance, credit must be given to Suryakumar Yadav for the way he led the side. Going with just two front line pacers, he rotated the bowlers, especially spinners on a ground that is usually a bowler’s nightmare.
Read More: India cap off dream T20I year with 24 wins out of 26 games apart from winning T20 WC 2024
Varun and Arshdeep keep India’s dominant T20 bowling show going
Opting to field first, India had a dream with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh getting rid of both English openers in his first two overs. Skipper Jos Buttler’s blitz and his 48-run stand with Harry Brook kept the visitors going, before the momentum was halted by the introduction of spin.
Varun Chakravarthy scalped Brook and dangerous Liam Livingstone in the same over before Axar Patel snapped two more to leave England reeling at 103/7. Buttler was the last hope for England to reach a decent total but he too perished to Chakravarthy. In the end, the visitors could muster only 132.
Abhishek Sharma makes quick work of a paltry chase
India opening batters with a brilliant track record off late, provided the team with a blazing start. Sanju Samson smashed 22 runs off the second over bowled by Gus Atkinson to set the rest of the innings.
Pacer Jofra Archer gave England a ray of hope by dismissing both Samson and Suryakumar Yadav in the same over, but belligerent Abhishek Sharma thwarted all those hopes.
The southpaw struck a swashbuckling 34-ball 79 compiled by eight maximums and completed his half-century in mere 20 balls. His heroics resulted in a resounding win for the hosts by 7 wickets with 43 balls to spare.
Read More: Arshdeep Singh is now India's top wicket-taker in T20Is amongst pacers; What makes him special?
Statistical Highlights from India vs England, First T20I
Arshdeep Singh (97)* is now the leading wicket-taker for India in T20Is. Yuzuvendra Chahal previously held this record with 96 wickets from 80 games.
Both England openers, Phil Salt & Ben Duckett, were dismissed for the first time by Arshdeep Singh in all T20s.
Jos Buttler (494) is now the second-leading run-maker in T20Is played in India for a non-India player. The highest tally rests with Mohammad Nabi with 556 runs.
Hardik Pandya is the fourth India bowler to reach the 90-wicket mark in T20Is, after Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal & Arshdeep.
England's team total of 132 is their fifth-lowest all out total in T20Is against India.
Abhishek Sharma registered his third fifty-plus score in T20Is.
His 79(34) is the fourth-fastest completed knock (SR of 232.35) by an India opener in T20Is.
India registered their biggest win margin in T20Is against England, in terms of balls remaining (43).
What’s Next
After a one-sided game where the young England side got humbled, both teams next will lock horns in Chennai for the second T20I on 25th January. The hosts will look to keep their impeccable record in T20s going, while England needs an improved performance to level the series at Chepauk.
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