Left Arm Around

India breezed their way to an emphatic seven-wicket victory in the first T20I against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

A below par of 132 all-out was never likely to be enough against a powerhouse Indian batting line-up, however any fears of an unlikely upset were soon put to bed thanks to India’s opening pair.

Abishek Sharma continued his fine introduction to international cricket with a brilliant 79, while Sanju Samson set the tone with 26.

Gus Atkinson was punished for 38 from two overs, including 22 from his first, as India cantered home with 43 balls to spare.

There were, however, some encouraging for England’s pace quartet with Jofra Archer taking two and Mark Wood bowling with searing pace on his return.

Archer removed Samson and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav in the space of four balls, picking up 2-21 in his four overs.

Durham’s Wood received no rewards for his spirited effort, but consistent speeds of 90 MPH+ visibly troubled the likes of Samson.

Batting failures give Bazball-Buttler era worst possible start

After losing the toss and being asked to bat, the visitors made the worst possible start as left-armer Arshdeep Singh removed Phil Salt in the opening over and Ben Duckett shortly after.

Captain Buttler (68) appeared to be leading a recovery of sorts, but Harry Brook’s dismissal to Varun Chakravarhy began a rather typical England-style collapse in the middle overs.

From a position of strength at 65-2, the tourists lost their last eight wickets for only 67 runs in 12.3 overs.

While the impressive Arshdeep did the damage up-front, it was India’s spin-trio of Axar, Ravi Bishnoi and Chakravarthy that built sustained pressure and exposed a glaring weakness in England’s middle-order.

Home-town hero Chakravarthy was the star with 3-23, including the wicket of prized scalp Buttler as he tried to move into fifth gear.

There were raised eyebrows when they opted against selecting Mohammad Shami on his return from injury, but the spinners’ performance more than justified that difficult call.

With only Harry Brook and Jofra Archer joining Buttler in reaching double figures, today’s batting performance is a rather worrying sign for the Three Lions with four T20s and three ODI’s yet to come on the tour.

That being said, it could just be a minor blip given the quality and explosiveness of England’s batting lineup.

It’s important to reiterate that this world-class Indian side can take down any team on their day.

They are, after all, the reigning T20 world champions who won 24 out of 26 matches in 2024.

Success breeds confidence…

The two teams meet again for the second T20 international in Chennai on Saturday.