Wed Jan 22 14:21:00 UTC 2025: ## India Strikes Early, Shami Snubbed in T20 Series Opener
**Kolkata, India** – Varun Chakravarthy provided India with an early breakthrough in the first T20I against England in Kolkata, dismissing Liam Livingstone for a duck and Harry Brook for 17 in a single over. This left England reeling at 4 wickets down, with captain Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell needing to rebuild the innings.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Eden Gardens. However, a surprising omission from the playing XI was the highly anticipated return of pacer Mohammed Shami, despite him being seen bowling in the nets prior to the toss. Arshdeep Singh instead led India’s pace attack. The five-match series continues.
First Piper 