Kolkata: Team India beat England by 8 wickets in the first T20 match, thanks to their strong cricket performance. With the bat, first England only made 132 runs, but India stopped them from scoring more. India reached England’s score of 132 in twelve-and-a-half overs, securing the first series match with a 1-0 advantage.
Through his aggressive batting style, Abhishek Sharma led India to their series win. He made 79 runs from 34 balls, hitting 8 sixes and 5 fours in the process. Sharma set a new Indian record in T20 internationals when he reached fifty runs in 20 balls.
India built their winning foundation through solid bowling work before Sharma scored his runs. Arshdeep Singh took 2 batsmen out for 17 runs with his 4 overs, while Varun Chakravarthy’s spell brought down 3 players for 23 runs. Both Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel took two English wickets to help break down their batting order.
Among England’s batters, Jos Buttler stood out by scoring 68 runs. Buttler’s strong influence didn’t help because the other players couldn’t keep up, leaving England with only 132 runs. India achieved their widest margin of victory over England when they won with 43 balls remaining.
Abhishek Sharma aggressively broke down England’s bowlers from the start of his innings on Kolkata’s easy-to-hit pitch. He aimed at Jofra Archer from the start and maintained his dominance over Mark Wood and Adil Rashid until his turn to bat finished. Working with Sharma, Sanju Samson helped build the run rate by scoring 26 runs, including a fast 22 runs from just one over right before he was not out. Tilak Varma added 19 runs to the team’s score before he was declared out.
Not only did India’s powerful win take them ahead in the series, but they also created a new global record by chasing over 130 runs against England faster than any team had before. Australia previously held the record in 2018, taking only 14.3 overs to chase 130-plus runs.