Thu Jan 23 23:06:10 UTC 2025: ## India Dominates England in First T20I, Winning by 7 Wickets
Kolkata, India – India took a commanding 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against England with a dominant 7-wicket victory in the opening match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. England, after being put into bat, posted a modest 133 runs, a total easily chased down by India in just 12.5 overs with only three wickets lost.
Abhishek Sharma stole the show with a breathtaking 79 runs off just 34 balls, a knock studded with five fours and eight towering sixes. Despite his match-winning innings, the Player of the Match award went to Varun Chakravarthy for his impressive bowling figures of 3 wickets for 23 runs in four overs. Chakravarthy dismissed key England batsmen including captain Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, and Liam Livingstone.
Buttler was England’s top scorer with a 68-run knock, but no other English batsman managed to reach 20 runs. Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel also contributed two wickets each for India.
India’s chase got off to a fiery start thanks to a 41-run partnership between Sanju Samson (26) and Abhishek Sharma. While captain Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t contribute much, Tilak Varma provided support to Sharma, who powered India to victory.
The win marks a strong start for India in the series, setting the stage for an exciting contest in the matches to come.
First Piper 