Under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian national cricket team hammered the England national cricket team at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the first T20I of the five-match series. series Wednesday, January 22.
Suryakumar Yadav's Indian national cricket team won the match by 7 wickets with 43 balls remaining to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
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India demolished three Lions in Kolkata
Team India played a fantastic brand of cricket in the T20I series opener. Winning the first toss and bowling, they restricted the opposition to a low total of 132 runs.
Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya claimed two wickets each while Varun Chakravarthy gave an outstanding performance as he took three wickets.
Tracking was pretty easy for hosts like Abhishek Sharma he put up a batting masterclass and smashed 79 runs. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma also chipped in with runs as the run-chase was completed in 12.5 overs.
All the bowlers had their own plans and executed it – Suryakumar Yadav
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav praised the bowlers for executing their plans very well. He stated:
“The energy, the way we started, that set the benchmark. All bowlers had their own plans and executed.
“(On picking three spinners) We wanted to stick to our strengths. All three are doing a wonderful job.”
Suryakumar Yadav further praised Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh for consistently good performances. He also gave a special mention to head coach Gautam Gambhir, saying he gives a lot of freedom to the players. Suryakumar Yadav explained:
“(On Varun) He makes things very simple, his preparations are on point.
“He (Arshdeep) has taken responsibility and has done it consistently. Gauti bhai gives us a lot of freedom. We have worked hard with the coach on the field.
Difference between India and England playing squads from their T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final squads
The difference between the playing XIs of India and England in the first T20I against each other at the Eden Gardens in the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 reflected on the transition phase in both TEAMS.
In the semi-final, India's top order saw Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, with Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya anchoring the middle order, the latter also providing his bowling services.
Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja provided stability with ball and bat. India's bowling department included Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, providing a potent combination of pace and spin.
Meanwhile, in the T20I match against the Three Lions, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma were the openers – in place of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who had retired from T20I cricket after the T20 World Cup 2024.
The other batsmen in the line-up were Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh, with the general duties handled by Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Axar Patel. Also, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy were the three pure bowlers in the XI.
On the other hand, England's semi-final line-up had Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow leading the batting, while experienced all-rounders like Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran added depth.
The fast bowling attack included Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan and Reece Topley, with Adil Rashid spin load management. In comparison, England's squad in the first T20I against India included a different mix, with Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton making the team alongside Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood, none of whom played in the semi-final.