Wednesday 22 / January / 2025
Kolkata: Abhishek Sharma's flamboyant display guided India to their first T20I victory of 2025 as they defeated England by seven wickets in the series opener at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
After facing 200-plus scores in South Africa, India found themselves chasing a modest 133-run target. While many teams might have been cautious in a low-scoring affair, India maintained their aggressive approach.
Sanju Samson initially struggled against Jofra Archer in the first over, missing a couple of deliveries, but quickly found his rhythm against Gus Atkinson. He hit two consecutive fours, understanding the surface, and followed up with a maximum over the covers and two more fours in the next over, bringing India 22 runs. Abhishek Sharma, watching from the other end, couldn't resist joining the attack. He began his innings with a boundary off Archer and soon dispatched a wayward delivery for a six.
However, Archer struck back in his next over, bowling at 145.9 kph. Samson (26) attempted a pull but was caught by Atkinson at deep midwicket. India's skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, was dismissed for a two-ball duck in the same over, reducing India to 41/2 from 41/0. Despite the setbacks, India refused to slow down.
Abhishek, with luck on his side, launched a series of boundaries and brought up his fifty in style with a dazzling six. After being dropped for the second time, his luck eventually ran out. He attempted to loft a delivery from Adil Rashid but was caught by Harry Brook at long-off, ending his explosive knock of 79 (34 balls).
The damage had already been done, and Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma guided India past the finish line with over seven overs to spare.
Earlier, India won the toss and elected to field. They got off to a great start when Arshdeep Singh dismissed Phil Salt for a duck (caught behind by Samson), leaving England at 0/1 after 0.3 overs. Jos Buttler, the England skipper, hit two boundaries but was soon followed by Ben Duckett, who was dismissed for four runs off four balls after a leading edge was caught by Rinku Singh at covers. England was at 17/2 in 2.5 overs. With this wicket, Arshdeep became India's leading T20I wicket-taker, surpassing Yuzvendra Chahal's tally of 96 wickets.
Buttler and Harry Brook then steadied the innings, with Buttler smashing four boundaries off Hardik Pandya in the fourth over. At the end of the powerplay, England was 46/2, with Buttler (34*) and Brook (6*).
Despite some strong shots from Buttler and Brook, India's spinners, led by Varun Chakravarthy, started to dominate. Varun dismissed Brook (17 in 14 balls) and Liam Livingstone (0) within three balls, reducing England to 65/4 in eight overs.
By the 10th over, England was struggling at 74/4, with Buttler (47*) and Jacob Bethell (3*) unbeaten. Buttler reached his half-century off 34 balls, including six fours and a six. Bethell was dismissed for seven runs, and England was 83/5 in 11.5 overs.
India's spinners continued to strangle England's scoring, with Axar Patel removing Jamie Overton (2) and Gus Atkinson (2) in quick succession. Buttler's fighting knock came to an end when Chakravarthy bowled him out, and Nitish Kumar Reddy took a diving catch at deep backward square leg. Buttler was dismissed for 68 off 44 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, leaving England at 109/8 in 16.2 overs.
In the final over, Jofra Archer was dismissed by Hardik Pandya for 12 off 11 balls. England was 129/9 in 19.5 overs, and they ended their innings at 132/10, with Mark Wood run out on the last ball.
