India’s Abhishek Sharma plays a shot against England during the T20 Match at the Eden Garden in Kolkata on January 22, 2025.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Varun Chakaravarthy wove his spin magic at the Eden Gardens — his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders’ backyard — and opener Abhishek Sharma cracked a blistering half-century as India thrashed England by seven wickets in the first of the five-match T20I series in Kolkata on Wednesday.

After restricting the visitor to a modest 132, the host rushed to the target in 12.5 overs, much to the joy of a packed house.

India was off to a rollicking start, plundering 63 in the PowerPlay despite losing two wickets to Jofra Archer in the fifth over.

Sanju Samson (26), who utilised his gift of timing to hammer 22 off Gus Atkinson’s first over, provided the ignition before ill-timing a pull. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav miscued one to the leg side.

The two blows could not deter Abhishek (79, 34b, 5×4, 8×6), who treated Mark Wood with disdain — hammering successive sixes over fine-leg and third-man and a straight four in the sixth over.

The southpaw used his feet well against spinner Adil Rashid. He hoisted Rashid over mid-wicket and long-on and Jamie Overton over fine-leg as he completed his half-century in just 20 deliveries. He fell to Rashid when the target was in sight.

Earlier, Mohammed Shami’s wait to return to international cricket got longer as Suryakumar chose to field three spinners amid speculation split over the pacer’s form and fitness, and India’s tactics.

With plenty of dew on the field and the prospect of the pitch playing slow and the ball skidding, India opted to field.

Arshdeep Singh extracted impressive seam movement and bowled in good areas to strike in quick succession. The third delivery of the match surprised Phil Salt even before he could open his account. Salt’s leading edge went miles up in the air before Samson calmly accepted the catch. In Arshdeep’s next over, Ben Duckett, looking to play on the onside, only managed to get a leading edge.

Rinku Singh, posted at cover, ran back to take a spectacular high catch and help Arshdeep become the country’s top wicket-taker in T20Is, overtaking Yuzvendra Chahal’s tally of 96 scalps.

Unperturbed, captain Jos Buttler (68, 44b, 8×4, 2×6) batted aggressively, choosing Hardik Pandya for special treatment, as he added 48 quick runs with Harry Brook.

Varun (three for 23) displayed his control over flight and spin to scalp two in his second over. Brook, who had problems in reading the spinner, played for the turn but inside-edged one onto his pads and the stumps. Liam Livingstone was also bowled in a similar fashion.

Hardik removed Jacob Bethell and Axar Patel claimed the wickets of Overton and Atkinson in consecutive overs. The wicketless Ravi Bishnoi kept it tight to apply more pressure.

The one-man show of Buttler — who showcased his range of shots and placement skills on both sides — ended as he pulled Varun to Nitish Reddy in the 17th over.

All this proved inconsequential once Abhishek took over.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir with captain Suryakumar Yadav during a practice session ahead of the Twenty20 international against England in Kolkata.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Captain Suryakumar Yadav thinks the Indian team is moving in the right direction under coach Gautam Gambhir.

Remembering his days when he donned the Kolkata Knight Riders colours and played under Gambhir’s captaincy in the Indian Premier League, Suryakumar said, “I have played under Gauti bhai for four years. I have spent a lot of time with him, I know how he works. Even he knows how to talk to each other. It started from the Sri Lanka series… We are moving in the right direction.

“He keeps it simple and gives a lot of freedom. He lets the players express themselves inside (the ground). He knows what goes on in the minds of the players, keeps the atmosphere light and relaxed in the dressing room.”

Suryakumar said the Indian batting line-up would be flexible in the five-match T20I series against England, starting at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday (January 22, 2025).

“We want to be very flexible with the batting order. Other than the openers, from three to seven or eight, everyone needs to be really flexible with their batting,” said Suryakumar on the eve of the series opener.

“Anyone can go at any time. We have been practising for that. It will be changing with the matches.”

Suryakumar backed Sanju Samson for the wicketkeeper-batter’s job. “Currently, there is no question mark on the wicketkeeper. Sanju has done really well in the last seven-eight or 10 matches he has played. He has really shown what he is capable of,” said the India skipper.

England players are seen during a practice session ahead of the first Twenty20 international match in Kolkata on January 21, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

With the change in colours of the ball and clothing, India, mostly with a different set of personnel, will be keen to live up to its World champion’s tag in the five-match T20I series against England, dubbed as ‘SKYball’ vs ‘Bazball,’ and redeem some pride following its Test series debacle in home and away against New Zealand and Australia respectively.

As the two sides need to switch fast from T20 to ODI cricket through eight matches over 22 days before taking a plunge in the prestigious Champions Trophy, a 50-over competition, in less than a month’s time, the Suryakumar Yadav-led home side will have a few challenges in hand when the series begins at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday (January 22, 2025).

Pace ace Mohammed Shami’s return to international cricket after 14 months’ lay-off due to injury is much-awaited. As Jasprit Bumrah is doubtful for the Champions Trophy, Shami’s fitness will be closely watched.

T20 heroes Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill have been rested, whereas Nitish Reddy, the find of the tour Down Under, seamer Harshit Rana and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel have a chance to shine.

Proven hands Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh in batting and Shami, Arshdeep Singh and first-time vice-captain Axar Patel in bowling may play key roles.

The focus will also be on coach Gautam Gambhir, who has faced some criticism after the two Test series defeats. The doughty Delhiite, who coached India to T20 series wins over Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, has captained and mentored Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to title wins in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and will look forward to his familiar turf and format to guide India to some positive results and revive his credibility.

England coach Brendon McCullum, a former KKR player and coach and the England Test team’s coach for more than two years, has taken over as the white ball coach of an international side for the first time and will be up for a new test.

McCullum’s entry has triggered the expectation of ‘Bazball’ cricket spicing up England’s limited overs game and reviving its fortune in limited-over World Cups.

While Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, skipper Jos Buttler and Harry Brook will be the leading batters for the visiting side, the bowling department will have the likes of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson and Adil Rashid. Promising all-rounder Jacob Bethell with the experienced Liam Livingstone will provide balance.

Several English players’ IPL exposure should help the side.

While Eden has a reputation of staging exciting high-scoring duels, evening dew may impact decision-making and the course of the play.

Teams (from)

India (from): Suryakumar Yadav (capt.), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (v-capt.), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).

England: Jos Buttler (capt.), Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

Match starts: 7pm.