IND vs ENG: Abhishek Sharma’s fireworks & Varun Chakravarthy’s spin humble England

India beat England in style in the first T20I at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. India won the toss and elected to field first, and with superb bowling performances, they restricted England to 132 runs. India then comfortably chased down that target in 12.5 overs. Abhishek Sharma scored a half-century for India, while Varun Chakravarthy took 3 wickets. Tilak Verma (19) and Hardik Pandya (3) remained unbeaten to finish the match. India gains a 1-0 lead in the IND vs ENG five-match series.

Abhishek Sharma led the charge for India

Indian opener Abhishek Sharma delivered a brilliant performance against England. Opening the batting with Sanju Samson, he smashed 79 runs off 34 balls. Sanju Samson scored 26 runs. The only bad performance India has seen was from Suryakumar Yadav as the captain departs on a duck. Later, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Verma finished the match.

England’s batting woes

The innings got off to a rocky start with Phil Salt dismissed for a duck by Arshdeep Singh. Ben Duckett followed soon after, leaving England at 17/2. Captain Jos Buttler anchored the innings with a 68 off 44 balls, hitting eight fours and two sixes. However, he received little support from his teammates. Varun Chakravarthy’s introduction into the attack further complicated things for England, as he claimed key wickets, including Buttler’s.

Middle and lower-order struggles

After losing key wickets at the top, England’s middle and lower order struggled to accelerate. Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone fell cheaply, while Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton couldn’t build on starts. The tailenders, including Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid, managed a few runs towards the end but couldn’t provide the needed push. Mark Wood was run out on the last ball, summing up England’s innings at 132. Extras added 11 runs to the total but weren’t enough to set a challenging target for India.

Varun and Arshdeep shine

Varun Chakravarthy was India’s standout bowler, finishing with figures of 3/23 in his four overs. His variations troubled the English batsmen, breaking crucial partnerships. Arshdeep Singh was equally effective early on, picking up two important wickets and restricting the batters with an economical spell of 4/17. Axar Patel also contributed by taking two wickets for 22 runs. Together, India’s bowlers maintained pressure, not allowing England to gain any momentum.