INDIA cruised to a seven-wicket victory over England in the first T20 international on Wednesday, thanks to inspired bowling and a blistering 34-ball 79 by opener Abhishek Sharma.
Opting to field first in Kolkata, India bowled out England for 132, with spinner Varun Chakravarthy and fast bowler Arshdeep Singh sharing five wickets. Sharma then launched an assault, scoring a 20-ball fifty and hammering eight sixes and five fours to take India to victory in just 12.5 overs. The win gave India a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The series, followed by three ODIs, serves as preparation for next month’s 50-over Champions Trophy.
England captain Jos Buttler top-scored with 68 off 44 balls, but his teammates failed to capitalise. Phil Salt fell for a duck in the first over, caught by wicketkeeper Sanju Samson after edging Arshdeep’s delivery high into the air.
Arshdeep struck again in the third over, dismissing Ben Duckett for four with a sharp catch by Rinku Singh, who ran backwards from the covers to complete the dismissal.
Buttler tried to rebuild England’s innings with a 48-run partnership for the third wicket alongside vice-captain Harry Brook, who scored 17. However, Chakravarthy broke the stand by bowling Brook with a googly. He then dismissed Liam Livingstone for a duck, with the ball darting into the stumps.
Buttler reached his half-century off 34 balls but fell in an attempt to accelerate, hitting a six off Chakravarthy before being dismissed the very next ball.
Chakravarthy finished with figures of 3-23, while Arshdeep, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya picked up two wickets each. England were all out on the final ball of their innings.
Chasing 133, India raced to 41 in 4.1 overs before Jofra Archer struck twice in four deliveries, dismissing Sanju Samson for 26 and captain Suryakumar Yadav for a duck.
Despite the setbacks, Sharma maintained the momentum, dismantling England’s attack with a flurry of boundaries. The left-hander was eventually dismissed by Adil Rashid, but not before thrilling the home crowd with his innings.
It was a disappointing start for England’s new white-ball coach, Brendon McCullum, who had previously focused solely on the Test side.
India’s decision to leave out Mohammed Shami, despite his return to the squad after a year-long absence due to injury, raised eyebrows.
The second T20 will be played on Saturday in Chennai.
(With inputs from AFP)
John Denham
