England in India 2024/25, IND vs ENG 1st T20I Match Report, 22 Jan 2025

On By Littum

India 133 for 3 (Abhishek 79, Samson 26, Archer 2-21) batted England 132 (Buttler 68, Varun 3-23, Arshdeep 2-17) with seven wickets

India brutally brushed England aside in the first T20I at the Eden Gardens as Abhishek Sharma’s 79 from just 34 deliveries munched a meager target of 133 with 43 balls to spare.

Abhishek’s third fifty-plus score in the format capped off a complete all-round performance from the hosts. A combination of Arshdeep Singh’s 2 for 17 at the top and Varun Chakravarthy’s 3 for 23 through the middle dismissed the tourists for 132, denying their attempt to mark Brendon McCullum’s first game in charge with the attacking verve he craves.

But for Jos Buttler’s 68 – his 26th T20I fifty – things could have been worse. The 34-year-old’s evening had begun by losing a crucial toss to Suryakumar Yadav. With the start at 19 in Kolkata there was moisture in the air throughout, and dew a factor already in the first round. Both captains wanted to bowl and only one got the chance.

Arshdeep made the most of these early conditions and removed openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett in his first 11 deliveries. Those dismissals took the left-arm seamer to 97 in T20Is, leapfrogging Yuzvendra Chahal as India’s top wicket-taker in the format.

When Buttler departed in the 17th over, he had made 68 off the 109 on the board, with Harry Brook the only batsman to reach double figures, before Jofra Archer chipped in with 12 from No.9.

Brook’s 17 was part of a stand of 48 with Buttler, the vice-captain and the captain, all about a rebuild that was ended by Varun’s googlies. The 33-year-old bowled Brook and Liam Livingstone in the space of three deliveries to return to ruins. His third was Buttler, at deep square leg.

Whatever little danger there was in the chase was limited to just the fifth over as Archer removed both. Sanju Samson – who had done the early runs – and Surayakumar for a duck in four deliveries. Archer, who bowled his four overs on the bounce after opening the innings, was comfortably the pick of England’s bowlers with 2 for 21. In contrast, Gus Atkinson was taken apart for 38 runs across his two overs, with his first blitz in 22 of Samson.

The onus then fell on Abhishek, who was dropped by Adil Rashid on 29 off 16. The left-hander would bring up his half-century just four balls later.

Although Rashid would eventually get his man, India had almost established a 1-0 lead in this five-match series. A four from Tilak Varma off the bouncer of Mark Woods off the penultimate ball of the 13th over confirmed it.

Arshdeep Singh sets the tone

Before England suffocated through the middle of a three-leg spin attack, they were cut open by the lone full-time quick. Since debuting in 2022, Arshdeep Singh has been a new banker for India’s shortest format. Consistently devastating and devastatingly consistent.

It was fitting that on the night he became India’s leading T20I wicket-taker, he reinforced his credentials as one of the format’s premier seamen in an opening three-over spell of 2 for 10. Moving away and up from a good length did for Salt, who could only shoot a leading edge, was followed by nip the other way, leaving the left-handed Duckett for a similar death.

Off the first 18 deliveries, a remarkable 12 were dots which saw him get the better of Buttler and Brook without reward. On another day, their feelers outside off stump might have resulted in edges, bringing more joy Arshdeep’s way. But instead of lamenting missing out on the extra notches in the wicket column, he seemed content enough with his job as he had opened the door for his spinners.

Full report to follow…

Vithushan Ehantharajah is Associate Editor at ESPNcricinfo