India vs England: Jos Buttler’s side suffered a convincing seven-wicket defeat in the first T20I | Cricket news

Brendon McCullum’s new white-ball era in England got off to a rocky start as the Tourists suffered a heavy seven-wicket defeat against a rampant India in the opening T20I at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.

England were bowled out for just 132 after being put into bat in Kolkata after falling to 65-4 early on.

Captain Jos Buttler’s 68 from 44 balls was the only score of note as wickets kept falling around him.

In reply, India rose to 133 with seven overs to spare as Abhishek Sharma (79) raced to a 20-ball half-century, reaching his milestone with a maximum over fine leg.

The hosts lead 1-0 in the five-match series with the second T20 in Chennai on Saturday.

England’s struggles began as soon as openers Phil Salt (0) and Ben Duckett (4) were dismissed early by Arshdeep Singh (2-17), while Liam Livingstone (0) and Harry Brook (17) were also dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy ( 3) -23) in the same over after Brook and Buttler tried to fight back.

But wickets fell regularly as Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel also claimed two each.

India wasted no time in running despite Jofra Archer (2-21) who struck twice in one over to remove Sanja Samson (26) and Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav (0) to leave them 41-2.

Adil Rashid (1-27) earned a prized scalp from Sharma in the 12th over, who hit five fours and eight sixes before falling with just eight runs needed to win.

McCullum’s white ball era begins with a loss

Salt was dismissed for a duck in the first over, while Duckett was caught at midwicket by Rinka Singh as Arshdeep became India’s leading wicket-taker in the short format.

Brook briefly looked dangerous in his 48-run partnership with his captain, but his cameo was ended by Chakravarthy, who then removed Livingstone for a duck one ball later.

Jacob Bethell (7) became Pandya’s first wicket after Sharma turned to deep midwicket.

India’s spinners then confirmed the performance of their seamers earlier when Jamie Overton (2) miscued a drive and Gus Atkinson (2) was caught, both off Patel (2-22).

Buttler, who reached his 26th T20I half-century, perished at the hands of Nitish Kumar Reddy who took a stunning diving catch at deep midwicket.

Archer added 12, only the third player in the England line-up to reach double figures, but he cut Pandya a point as England’s ship continued to sink.

Rashid (8no) and Mark Wood (1) were desperate to get runs in the final moments of the English innings, but the latter was run out by Samson with a direct hit on the last ball of the innings.

India dominated the home ground, racing to 41-0 with Samson (26) and Sharma (79) sharing a 41-run stand.

Archer (2-21) rushed Samson who dismissed Atkinson at deep midwicket before removing Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav (0) for a three-ball duck in the same over.

However, those wickets did not break India’s momentum as Tilak Varma combined with Sharma for 84 runs to guide the hosts to a dominant victory.

Buttler: We were outplayed

England captain Jos Buttler speaking with TNT Sports:

“There was a little bit in the goalpost at the beginning and we probably didn’t expect that.

“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 step up the game you want to play and we weren’t able to do that today. We’re better for the run-out and we’re looking forward to the next one.

“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 and stuff, so now it’s great to work with him in the dressing room.”

Suryakumar: We brought real energy from the beginning

India captain Suryakumar Yadav speaking with TNT Sports:

“I think the energy and the way we started after the draw set the benchmark.

“We took it from there. All pitchers have their plans and execute them.

– Then the blow was the icing on the cake.

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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