Inspired bowling and a 34-ball 79 by opener Abhishek Sharma helped India to a crushing seven-wicket win over England in the first T20 international on Wednesday.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy and fast bowler Arshdeep Singh shared five wickets between them as India bowled out England for 132 after the hosts elected to field first in Kolkata.
Left-hander Sharma then came out firing and despite losing two of his partners smashed a 20-ball fifty and ended with eight sixes and five fours to steer the team to victory in 12.5 overs and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
𝗔 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘀! 💪 💪#TeamIndia off to a flying start in the T20I series, sealing a 7⃣-wicket win! 👏 👏
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 22, 2025
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The T20 series, followed by three ODIs, between the two teams serve as a warm-up for the 50-over Champions Trophy next month.
England skipper Jos Buttler smashed 68 off 44 balls but the rest of the line-up failed to get going.
"The energy, the way we started, that set the benchmark," India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said. "All the bowlers had their own plans and executed."
England opener Phil Salt fell for a duck on the third ball of the match, with a leading edge off his bat sending the ball high and into the gloves of wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.
Arshdeep dismissed Ben Duckett for four in the third over, with Rinku Singh taking a stunning backward running catch from the covers.
Buttler hit back with four boundaries off Hardik Pandya as he attempted to rebuild in a 48-run third-wicket partnership with his new deputy Harry Brook, who scored 17.
Chakravarthy bowled Brook with a googly and sent back Liam Livingstone for a duck as the ball darted into the stumps once again.
Buttler reached his fifty in 34 balls but wickets kept tumbling and in an attempt to push the scoring the skipper finally fell to Chakravarthy, who returned figures of 3-23, the ball after hitting the bowler for six.
Varun Chakaravarthy scalped 3⃣ wickets & bagged the Player of the Match Award! 👌 👌
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 22, 2025
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Arshdeep, Axar Patel and Pandya took two wickets each and a run out from the last ball saw England all out in 20 overs.
India raced to 41 in 4.1 overs before fast bowler Jofra Archer took down Sanju Samson, for 26, and Suryakumar, for a duck, in the space of four deliveries.
"He (Archer) always looks good, he's a superstar," said Buttler. "To see him and (Mark) Wood operate in tandem is exciting. Venue to venue, you got to assess the conditions quickly and play well."
Sharma kept up the batting blitz to take the sting out of the England bowling.
𝘼 𝙎𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙁𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙮 😎
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 22, 2025
Abhishek Sharma starts the #INDvENG T20I series on the right note 👍
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The 24-year-old Sharma finally fell to Adil Rashid but not after a show that entertained the raucous home crowd.
It was a disappointing start for England's new white-ball coach Brendon McCullum, who was previously only in charge of the test side.
India surprisingly left out Mohammed Shami after the fast bowler returned to the squad following a heel injury that kept him away from competitive cricket for over a year.
The second T20 is on Saturday in Chennai.
INDIA: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.
ENGLAND: Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (capt), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.