INDIA T20I Victory Over England: Abhishek Sharma’s Fireworks and India’s Spin Dominance
CricketPanditIndia’s spin trio delivered impressive figures of 5/67 from their 12 overs, setting the tone for the T20I series and leading to a convincing seven-wicket victory over England in Kolkata on Wednesday (January 22). In a matchup touted as a clash of two dynamic batting lineups, India showcased their spin bowling strength on home turf, bowling out England for a mere 132. Abhishek Sharma’s explosive innings sealed the win with 43 balls to spare.
Opting to bowl first, India confidently relied on their spin-heavy attack, which meant Mohammed Shami’s return was postponed. Arshdeep Singh made an immediate impact with the new ball, surprising Phil Salt with a short delivery that resulted in a leading edge and an early dismissal. Ben Duckett also fell to Singh, this time off a fuller delivery. Meanwhile, Jos Buttler countered at the other end, aggressively targeting Hardik Pandya and hitting six boundaries in just two overs, prompting Suryakumar Yadav to rethink his bowling strategy.
Despite Buttler and Harry Brook hitting a six each in Axar Patel’s opening over, their momentum was quickly halted when Chakaravarthy took two wickets in a single over, both falling to his googly. Jacob Bethell’s debut in India was underwhelming; he appeared anxious during his brief innings and, when he finally connected well, he hit the ball straight to a fielder in the deep.
Abhishek scored a 20-ball fifty ©BCCI
If it weren’t for Buttler, England’s situation would have been dire, as the captain consistently found the boundary despite the struggles of his teammates. By the end of the 15th over, he had contributed over 60% of the team’s total runs. However, any hopes of him increasing his score were dashed when Nitish Reddy executed a brilliant diving catch, sending Buttler back to the pavilion. Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid managed to push the total past 130 runs, but it was far from a competitive score on this pitch, especially with the dew settling in.
As anticipated, Sanju Samson shifted into aggressive mode after navigating Archer’s opening over. Gus Atkinson was greeted with a boundary, followed by three more fours and a six, allowing Samson to wipe out 22 runs from the target in just six balls. He was cautious against Mark Wood in his first over, but in an attempt to make up for it, he mistimed a shot in the next over and was caught near deep midwicket. Archer quickly made it two wickets in two balls as Suryakumar, trying to flick, ended up with a leading edge.
Meanwhile, Abhishek at the other end handled the pace well, hitting back-to-back sixes off Wood after already scoring runs off Archer. Consequently, India raced to 63 runs in just the powerplay, with victory clearly in sight. After Rashid dropped a catch off his own bowling, Abhishek seized the opportunity, hitting 4, 6, 6 in the same over and then clearing the ropes again in the next to achieve a remarkable 20-ball half-century.
Tilak Varma was content to watch from the other end as India reached 100 runs in just 10 overs. Abhishek continued to dominate, wrapping things up as Atkinson faced the brunt of his onslaught before a googly from Rashid finally ended the fun just an over before India completed the formalities.
In a brief match summary, England scored 132 runs in 20 overs, with Jos Buttler contributing 68 runs. Varun Chakaravarthy took 3 wickets for 23 runs, while Arshdeep Singh claimed 2 wickets for 17 runs. India chased down the target, finishing at 133 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in just 12.5 overs, led by Abhishek Sharma’s impressive 79 runs. Jofra Archer took 2 wickets for 21 runs. India won the match by 7 wickets
