Varun, Abhishek crush England at Eden Gardens, India maintain nine-year-old unbeaten record

India beat England by seven wickets at Eden Gardens in the first T20I to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

India defeated England by seven wickets to win the first T20I at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Men in Blue elected to bowl first as Mohammed Shami’s absence raised quite a few eyebrows. The veteran seamer was expected to make his return but the team management interestingly backed three spinners in Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi. The move brought criticism but eventually, it worked in favour of the hosts.

Young pacer Arshdeep Singh looked ruthless with the new ball, dismissing Phil Salt in the first over. In his next over, he sent Ben Duckett back to the pavilion as the Three Lions were reduced to 17/2. England lost a few back-to-back wickets, courtesy of Varun Chakravarthy’s magical spell but captain Jos Buttler maintained his calm and helped the visitors post a respectable total.

The keeper-batter didn’t compromise on his strike rate and played aggressively. He made 68 runs off 44 deliveries as England posted 132 runs on the board in the first innings. Varun was the star with the ball for India, clinching three wickets. Arshdeep, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya cliched two each in the first innings.

India seemed to have batted on a different surface in the second innings. Opener Sanju Samson smacked a cluster of boundaries in the second over of the game and that set the tone for India. He hit Gus Atkinson for 22 runs and eventually departed after scoring 26 runs off 20 deliveries. After his dismissal, Abhishek Sharma took over the business and wreaked havoc in the middle.

The southpaw didn’t care much about the opposition and launched a scathing attack on the England bowlers. He made 79 runs off 34 deliveries as India chased the total in 12.5 overs. He also registered the second-fastest fifty for India against England in T20Is. Meanwhile, this was India's seventh consecutive T20I win at Eden Gardens. They now maintain a nine-year-old unbeaten record at the venue.