Kolkata: Abhishek Sharma's spectacular performance led India to their inaugural T20I win of 2025, as they triumphed over England by seven wickets in the series opener held at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Having faced scores exceeding 200 in South Africa, India was set to chase a relatively modest target of 133 runs. While many teams might have adopted a cautious strategy in such a low-scoring match, India opted to maintain their aggressive style.
Sanju Samson initially found it challenging against Jofra Archer in the opening over, missing a few deliveries, but quickly regained his form against Gus Atkinson. He struck two consecutive fours, demonstrating his understanding of the pitch, and followed up with a six over the covers and two additional fours in the subsequent over, accumulating 22 runs for the team. Abhishek Sharma, observing from the other end, eagerly joined the fray, starting his innings with a boundary off Archer and soon sending a loose delivery over the boundary for six.
However, Archer retaliated in his next over, clocking 145.9 kph. Samson (26) attempted a pull shot but was caught by Atkinson at deep midwicket. India's captain, Suryakumar Yadav, fell for a two-ball duck in the same over, leaving India at 41/2 after a promising start of 41/0. Despite these challenges, India continued to press forward.
Abhishek, benefiting from a bit of fortune, unleashed a flurry of boundaries and celebrated his fifty in style with a stunning six. After being dropped for the second time, his luck eventually ran out. He attempted to loft a delivery from Adil Rashid but was caught by Harry Brook at long-off, concluding his explosive innings of 79 runs off 34 balls.
The damage had already been inflicted, and Hardik Pandya along with Tilak Varma steered India to victory with more than seven overs remaining.
India won the toss and chose to field first. They made an impressive start as Arshdeep Singh claimed the wicket of Phil Salt for a duck, caught behind by Samson, leaving England at 0/1 after just 0.3 overs. England's captain, Jos Buttler, managed to hit two boundaries but was soon followed by Ben Duckett, who fell for four runs off four balls, caught at cover by Rinku Singh. England found themselves at 17/2 in 2.5 overs. With this wicket, Arshdeep became India's all-time leading T20I wicket-taker, surpassing Yuzvendra Chahal's record of 96 wickets.
Buttler and Harry Brook then stabilized the innings, with Buttler striking four boundaries off Hardik Pandya in the fourth over. By the end of the powerplay, England had reached 46/2, with Buttler on 34* and Brook on 6*.
Despite some aggressive shots from Buttler and Brook, India's spinners, particularly Varun Chakravarthy, began to take control. Varun dismissed Brook (17 runs off 14 balls) and Liam Livingstone (0) in quick succession, leaving England at 65/4 after eight overs.
By the tenth over, England was in a precarious position at 74/4, with Buttler (47*) and Jacob Bethell (3*) at the crease. Buttler reached his half-century off 34 balls, featuring six fours and a six. Bethell was dismissed for seven runs, bringing England to 83/5 in 11.5 overs.
India's spinners continued to apply pressure, with Axar Patel taking out Jamie Overton (2) and Gus Atkinson (2) in rapid succession. Buttler's resilient innings came to an end when Chakravarthy bowled him out, with Nitish Kumar Reddy taking a spectacular catch at deep backward square leg. Buttler scored 68 runs off 44 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, leaving England at 109/8 in 16.2 overs.
In the final over, Hardik Pandya dismissed Jofra Archer for 12 runs off 11 balls. England concluded their innings at 132/10, with Mark Wood being run out on the last delivery.
