England's new white-ball era under Brendon McCullum got off to a rocky start as the tourists slumped to a heavy seven-wicket defeat against the Indian side 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 off 44 balls was the only score of note as wickets kept falling around him.
In reply, India powered to 133 with seven overs as Abhishek Sharma (79) ran up a 20-ball half-century, reaching his milestone with a maximum over fine leg.
The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series with the second T20 in Chennai on Saturday.
England's struggles began as Arshdeep Singh (2-17) dismissed openers Phil Salt (0) and Ben Duckett (4) early, while Varun Chakravarthy (3) also dismissed Liam Livingstone (0) and Harry Brook (17) . -23) after Brook and Buttler tried to fight back.
But the wickets fell regularly as Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel also took two each.
India wasted no time in the chase despite Jofra Archer (2-21) striking twice in one over to remove Sanja Samson (26) and Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav (0) to leave them 41-2.
Adil Rashid (1-27) claimed the valuable scalp of 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 losses
England's Phil Salt leaves the field after being sent off for a duck
Salt was dismissed for a duck in the first over while Duckett was caught by Rinka Singh at midwicket 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 cut short by Chakravarthy, who then removed Livingston and bowled one ball later.
Jacob Bethell (7) became Pandya's first wicket after he went to Sharma at deep mid-wicket.
India's spinners then backed up the performances their seamers had put in earlier as Jamie Overton (2) miscued a drive and Gus Atkinson (2) was stumped, both by 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 mid-century.
Archer added 12, only the third player in the England line-up to reach double figures, but he cut Pandya to point as the English ship continued to sink.
Rashid (8no) and Mark Wood (1) were desperate for runs in the closing moments of England's innings, but the latter was run out by Samson with a direct hit off the final ball of the innings.
India's Abhishek Sharma, right, celebrates his half-century
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 picked Atkinson at deep midwicket before removing India captain Suryakumar Yadav (0) for a three-ball package in the same over.
However, these wickets did not break India's momentum as Tilak Varma combined with Sharma in an 84-run stand to lead the hosts to a dominant win.
Buttler: We were outplayed
England captain If Buttler talk to TNT Sports:
“There was a little bit of passing early and we probably didn't expect that.
“I thought they found some movement early and if you get through that, it's a good scoring pitch and a quick pitch.
“You want to impose the game you want to play and we weren't able to do that today. We are better for relegation and we are looking forward to the next one.
“We want to be aggressive, we want to be watchable, and we are also against a team that is ultra-aggressive.
“I'm really enjoying the environment. I was a big fan of McCullum when he was playing and so on, 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 talk to TNT Sports:
“I think the energy and the way we started after the draw set the standard.
“We took over from there. All bowlers have their plans and they make them come true.
“Then the beating was the icing on the cake.”
T20 International Series in India (January-February)
All times in Great Britain and Ireland
- First T20: Wednesday, January 22 – Eden Gardens, Kolkata- India win by seven wickets
- Second T20: Saturday, January 25 (1.30pm) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
- Third T20: Tuesday, January 28 (1.30pm) – Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot
- Fourth T20: Friday, January 31 (1.30pm) – Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
- Fifth T20: Sunday 2nd February (1.30pm) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
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