India vs England: Jos Buttler stars but Brendon McCullum’s white-ball era begins with disastrous defeat | Cricket news
It’s fair to say Brendon McCullum wouldn’t want his tenure as England’s white-ball head coach to start with such a comprehensive defeat.
Both sides have been hailed as ‘in transition’, but after the first T20I, one appears to be on a much faster trajectory than the other.
There is almost an irony in the result too given the focus on Jos Buttler in the build-up to this series and what his role in the side will be going forward.
While the gloves have been taken off Buttler and questions remain about how he fits into the batting line-up, McCullum has made it clear that one of England’s best white-ball players still has a long international career ahead of him.
In the first T20I of this five-match series, Buttler proved why.
Of the 132 runs England scored, almost half came from the captains, with the likes of Liam Livingstone (0) and Phil Salt (0) not contributing, while opener Ben Duckett (4), Jacob Bethell (7) and Harry Brook (17) picked up just 28 runs between them.
England’s struggles against the spin bowling cost, and as Buttler fell on 68 runs off 44 balls with eight fours and two sixes, the visitors were left stranded as all their scoring options with the bat fell short.
With England struggling for a paltry target of 133, India then reached the total in 12.5 overs, with Abhishek Sharma (79) and Sanju Samson (29) key as the hosts fell by just three wickets.
This was an Indian side that cruised to victory without Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in their ranks.
“It was total destruction,” said Sir Alistair Cook TNT Sports.
“It’s worrying how they played the spin. More in the fact that it was kind of boom or bust,” he added.
“Only Buttler stood still and reacted, not thinking too much.
“He chose the length well.
“There’s something that guys need to take into account. Maybe you don’t have to push as hard as they think.
“A good start to the series for him, especially with all the talk about his form.
“England, let’s face it, need the dismissive Buttler to compete at the top of the T20 game.”
Despite such a huge loss, Buttler is still excited about what this new era can bring and wants to turn things around in three days’ time when England face India in the second T20I in Chennai on January 25.
“It was a little bit in the wicket at the start and we probably didn’t expect that,” Buttler said TNT Sports.
“I thought they found some movement early and if you get past that, it’s a good pitch to score and a quick pitch.
“You want to impose the game you want to play and we weren’t able to do that today.
“We are better for running out and we are looking forward to the next one.
“Jofra [Archer] he looked good, he’s a superstar, and he looked menacing. Mark Wood bowled fast and was exciting.
“We want to be aggressive, we want to be watchable, and we are up against a team that is also ultra-aggressive.
“I’m really enjoying the environment. I was a big fan of McCullum when he was playing so it’s great to be working with him in the dressing room now.”
International T20 series in India (January-February)
All times UK and Ireland
- First T20: Wednesday, January 22 – Eden Gardens, Kolkata- India win by seven wickets
- Second T20: Saturday, January 25 (1:30 p.m.) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
- Third T20: Tuesday, January 28 (1:30 p.m.) – Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot
- Fourth T20: Friday, January 31 (1.30pm) – Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
- Fifth T20: Sunday, February 2 (1.30pm) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
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