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India vs England (Ind vs Eng) 1st T20, Highlights | Abhishek Sharma played a stunning innings, scoring 79 runs off just 34 balls, leading India to a convincing 7-wicket victory over England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
India vs England (Ind vs Eng) 1st T20, Live cricket score and Updates | Under Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy, India is ready to battle it out with Josh Butler's England in the first match of the 5-match T20 series. India would be pinning its hopes on SKY, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson. Mohammed Shami is also available for international match after a long time. His presence is likely to give India a moral boost. While Indian fans eagerly await Mohammed Shami's return to international cricket after a 430-day absence, they'll also be watching closely to see how Nitish Kumar Reddy performs should he get a chance in the opening T20I against England at Eden Gardens. Since winning the Best Emerging Player award at IPL 2024, Nitish's cricketing career has skyrocketed. An excellent T20I series against Bangladesh paved the way for him to be on the Test tour of Australia, where he emerged as a one of the three centurions from the touring Indian team.
What a start to the over by Abhishek! He smashes a massive six over long off, what a fantastic shot! Then he follows it up with a beautiful drive towards cover for four. Now Tilak joins in on the action and hits a boundary straight past the bowler.
Adil Rashid is now bowling. Abhishek attempts a slog but misses the googly. He then hits a short ball towards cover for a four! Abhishek steps forward and smashes the ball towards midwicket, clearing the rope for a six! Back-to-back sixes! This time it goes over long on.
Abhishek confidently moves across the crease, receives a ball on his hips, and effortlessly flicks it over fine leg for a massive SIX! He then confidently strides down the track and hammers the ball over deep third for another maximum. A full ball is delivered, and Abhishek smashes it straight down the ground for a boundary.
Samson is out! He ends up pulling the ball straight to square leg. Now Suryakumar Yadav is at the crease. He faces a short ball, tries to hit the scoop shot, but gets beaten. And he's out too! He tries the same shot again, gets a top edge, and is caught by the keeper.
Abhishek Sharma steps up to face his first ball of the innings. He tries to create some space on the offside but misses the ball. Suddenly, he hits a beautiful shot past point for a four. The next ball, Archer outsmarts him with a clever delivery. But Abhishek doesn't back down - he smashes the back of the length ball over cover for a massive six!
Samson starts off strong with a four off the first ball! Atkinson seems a bit annoyed with the pitch and requests more sand to be added. Samson then hits another boundary with a drive off the front foot. SIX!! What a shot! Samson lofts the ball over extra cover. He doesn't stop there, following it up with another four. Then, a full ball on the pads and Samson flicks it wide of mid-on for yet another four to finish off the over.
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are opening the innings for India. Jofra Archer is starting with the new ball.
Archer is bowling really well against Samson. He's keeping it back of the length and Samson is having a hard time getting runs. Four dot balls in a row! Archer is putting the pressure on Samson, making him hurry off the length. Samson manages to sneak in a quick single off the last ball.
Archer attempted to hit a short ball towards the off side but ended up getting a top edge straight to cover. He's out! Mark Wood managed to take a single off the first ball. The next ball was wide, outside off. And to wrap it up, there was a run out off the last ball.
Arshdeep is back and delivers a full ball. Rashid skillfully lofts the ball over cover for a boundary! That's six runs scored in just four balls. Arshdeep then bowls a yorker that beats Rashid, prompting an appeal. Not out!
Atkinson attempted a sweep but missed, causing the ball to also miss the stumps and go for four byes. Quite lucky! However, his luck ran out as he was eventually stumped. Atkinson came down the track but was nowhere near the ball.
Axar Patel is back in action! Overton attempts a slog sweep but ends up getting a leading edge, sending the ball straight to long off. Another wicket falls! Overton's stay at the crease was short-lived, lasting only four balls.
Buttler scores a single and reaches his fifty off 34 balls. Bethell almost chops on! Bethell is trying different strategies but can't seem to connect with the ball. And he's out! Bethell pulls straight to deep midwicket. He didn't look comfortable at all.
The appeal for stumping against Bethell and Samson has everyone on the edge of their seats! The googly from around the wicket completely fooled the left-hander. It seems like just a tiny part of the foot is behind the line. The decision is not out.
Brook is bowled out! He gets an inside edge and the ball ricochets off his pads towards the stumps.
Now, Liam Livingstone is at the crease. He's out too! A two-ball duck for Livingstone. It was a googly, and he didn't pick it up. The ball went between his bat and pad, uprooting the leg stump.
Buttler smoothly pushes the ball towards square leg for a four! He does it again with the same shot and gets the same result - back-to-back boundaries. Buttler almost chips it straight to Hardik, but manages to pull it for another four with a short ball. And another four! This time he tucks it away towards fine leg.
Hardik Pandya is bowling from the other end. Buttler confidently strides down the track and smacks the first boundary of the match straight down the ground. Hardik adjusts his length, causing some movement for the seamers. This time, an inswinger from Hardik, Buttler drives but unfortunately straight to the cover fielder. Another boundary! This time an outswinger, Buttler swings hard and sends the ball flying over the point fielder for four more runs.
OUT! Arshdeep delivered an outswinger, causing Salt to top edge the ball for an easy catch by the keeper. Arshdeep consistently delivered back of length balls, making it difficult for Salt to time his shots. Unfortunately, Salt only lasted three balls before getting out.
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Suryakumar Yadav: We will look to bowl first. The wicket looks sticky, there will be dew later on. It will be heavier later on. The boys have been amazing. The preparations have been good, looking forward to this series. It's going to be great competition between both the sides. A good headache, we want to stick to our strengths.
Jos Buttler: Looks a good wicket, sure going to be a good match. There will be some dew around. It's a great ground, it's an honour to play against India in these conditions. Everyone is in a good spot. It's nice to be together, looks to look forward to. McCullum taking charge, he has a lot of experience. It's going to be a challenge, we are up for it. There is some incredible talent in both sides.
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 21, 2025
ft. Captain Suryakumar Yadav #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @surya_14kumar | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/lB1MJse70w
On T20 World Cup plans, he said: "There's still a long way to go before the World Cup. I don't want to think about that directly. It's about making a team. Which player can do well in which position? "Which bowler can win a match on a given day single-handedly. So, all those things. It's about playing the same group, most amount of games," he said.
Suryakumar made it clear there is no ambiguity over the wicket-keeping role, with Sanju Samson currently holding the position and Dhruv Jurel being his backup. He ruled out Rishabh Pant's inclusion in the immediate plans despite the dynamic wicketkeeper-batter emerging as the most expensive player in IPL history. "Currently, there is no question mark on the wicketkeeper," Suryakumar said. "Sanju has done really well in the last 7-8, maybe 10 games he's played, and he has truly shown what he is capable of."
"I still remember 2018 when I went back to Mumbai Indians. And till today, it's just the added responsibility which I have got," said Suryakumar who led India to nine wins out of 10 games after being elevated to the skipper's role.
"We have been good friends on and off the field. When we go back to franchise cricket, it (captaincy) shifts to him so I can relax a little bit. We know what we want going forward with the team." Speaking about Axar's appointment, he said: "Axar has been given that added responsibility. We saw what he did in 2024 T20 World Cup. He has been with the team for a very long time right now." With the next T20 World Cup, which will be held in India in just a year, this decision reflects the BCCI's vision for the future. However, Suryakumar emphasised that it's more about the collective leadership group rather than individual roles.
India T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav has said Hardik Pandya remains very much part of the leadership group despite the elevation of Axar Patel as his deputy. Following the retirement of Rohit Sharma form T20s last year, Hardik was tipped to lead the side but Suryakumar was given that responsibility after the arrival of new coach Gautam Gambhir. Ahead of the five T20s against England, Hardik was removed as vice-captain and Axar was handed that responsibility. However, Suryumar insisted that he continues share a healthy bond with his IPL captain and Hardik is very much part of leadership group. "My relationship with him has been really great. We have been playing for a very long time right now," said Suryakumar on the eve of their match against England at Eden Gardens.
Mohammed Shami was India's star performer in the ODI World Cup of 2023, but he was unable to take part in the T20 World Cup of 2024. He made a comeback and played some omestic matches recently. Now, he is all set to don the India colours. Will he be performing at his highest abilities?
After testing times & a long wait, he is back to don the blues
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 22, 2025
For Mohd. Shami, it's only "UP & UP" from here on
WATCH #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @MdShami11 | @IDFCFIRSTBank https://t.co/V03n61Yd6Y
The star-studded Indian team under Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy is all set to counter the famous pace battery of England. On a relatively flat pitch, India would have some advantage against England.
Kolkata
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 20, 2025
Gearing for the #INDvENG T20I series opener #TeamIndia | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/ocvsS4Y4R3
"I waited for an entire year and I worked very hard (to get back to full fitness). There was a sense of fear (of getting injured during rehabilitation) even while running," Shami said in a video posted by BCCI.
He's BACK
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 20, 2025
Team India
Mohd. Shami
Eden Gardens
Just perfect #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @MdShami11 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/PwCuEOcaDA
India and England have faced each other 24 times in T20Is, with India holding a slight advantage with 13 wins to England's 11. However, India have won five of the last seven T20I encounters between the two teams since 2021. Their last T20I clash occurred in the semifinals of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup, where India secured a memorable victory.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led team will be bolstered with the return of pace veteran Mohammed Shami ahead of the all-important Champions Trophy, scheduled to start next month. Shami last played for India in the ODI World Cup final against Australia in November 2023. He underwent surgery for a heel injury that ruled him out of the action till November last year when he turned up for his state side Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.
India will begin the new year with a T20 series against England at Eden Gardens, which will be their first series after the embarrassing defeat to Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series Down Under. Before the series, India's head coach Gautam Gambhir visited the famous Kali Temple at the Kalighat here to pray for his team's success.
Gambhir has always had a special connection with the city of Kolkata having captained and mentored the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their two Indian Premier League (IPL) titles in 2014 and 2024 respectively. The India head coach was seen taking blessings and praying at the holy temple on the eve of the first game.
The Kalighat Kali Temple in Kolkata is regarded as the holiest Shaktipeeth of the 51 Shakti Peethas of India, where the various parts of Devi Sati's body are said to have fallen, in the course of Shiva's Rudra Tandava. Kalighat represents the site where the toes of the right foot of Shakti or Sati fell.
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