On Wednesday, January 22, India defeated England in the opening Twenty20 International at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata with a masterful performance. The Men in Blue took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series thanks to the all-encompassing effort.
India defeated England in the opening Twenty20 match
Arshdeep Singh made superb use of the new ball after Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and asked England to bat first. In his first two overs, he got rid of openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett. Jos Buttler, the captain of England, attacked Hardik Pandya, who then gave Arshdeep the new ball. Buttler and Harry Brook’s 48-run partnership helped the Three Lions bounce back strongly after losing two quick wickets.
But Varun Chakravarthy turned the tide back in India’s favour by getting rid of Liam Livingstone and Brook in the eighth over. As they attempted to make the big strokes rather than settling into the innings with their skipper, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton left in rapid succession. Though he didn’t receive many strikes, Buttler was having a great innings from the opposite end.
Chakravarthy’s dismissal of Buttler for an outstanding 68 off 44 balls handed India a significant breakthrough. But Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made a spectacular grab leaping forward, deserves a lot of the credit for the expulsion.
Chakravarthy’s three-for turned out to be the highlight of England’s 20-over bowling out of 132. With two wickets apiece, Arshdeep, Hardik, and Axar Patel provided him with good support. Ravi Bishnoi bowled economically despite going wicketless.
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma combined for 41 runs off of just 26 balls to give India a strong start in the reply. Jofra Archer got rid of Samson and Suryakumar in the fifth over, scoring thrice. But Abhishek smashed two sixes and a boundary off the next ball, which was bowled by Mark Wood, preventing England from applying any pressure.
With the exception of Archer, who finished with numbers of 2/21, Abhishek didn’t spare any bowlers, and the boundaries continued to come. The Punjab batsman had already amassed an incredible 79 from 34 balls before he was finally removed. During his knock, he hit eight sixes and five fours.
Together with Hardik (3*), Tilak Varma was undefeated at 19 off 16 balls as India advanced home with seven wickets and 7.1 overs remaining.
Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to India’s dominating performance in the first T20I:
#INDvsENG #T20
श्रृंखला की पहली जीत बधाई हो टीम इंडिया को…!!♥️🌻 pic.twitter.com/eecxA3YuP1— Lilesh Yadav (@SocialistLilesh) January 22, 2025
Is Abhishek Sharma snatched third opener position from Shubhman Gill from Indian team T20I side ?#IndvsEng #cricketfans
— A Kumar (@Am_official007) January 22, 2025
#INDvsENG#abhisheksharma
अभिषेक शर्मा के तूफ़ान में उड़ गया इंग्लैंड
भाई बहोत ही तगड़ा धुलाई करता है। शर्मा जी का बेटा। pic.twitter.com/gq26oRkx9u— Muhammad Nasibul (@ncn2164) January 22, 2025
Bashing Knock from Abhishek 🔥#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/vR2sZTIxHa
— Janagesh (@Janagesh_03) January 22, 2025
That was like watching the women’s Ashes….. #bbccricket #indveng #indvseng #it20
— Fenners (@fenners100) January 22, 2025
A cracking start to the #T20 series for India. Varun, Arshdeep & Axar were brilliant with the ball, Nitish and Rinku particularly were magnificent on the field and an absolute carnage by young Abhishek Sharma! Well done boys! Sensational win over England!#INDvsENG #EdenGardens pic.twitter.com/xuwGdlz2BH
— Jasraj Godara (@JasrajGoda31683) January 22, 2025
Love Varun Chakravarthy! Terrific T20 bowler! Love his swag too after getting a wicket ☺️👌. #INDvsENG #JioStar
— Jon Snow (@Tripurari1998) January 22, 2025
Fantastic knock ✊
79 of 34 balls 🔥,With a 20 ball fifty 😯#INDvsENG #T20I 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Rz1a3rtvbX— Zubair Qadir (@Zubair_414) January 22, 2025
India
