Abhishek made England pay for a dropped catch as he hit five fours and eight sixes during his hurricane 34-ball innings
Published Date – 22 January 2025, 10:24 PM
India’s Abhishek Sharma play a shot during the first T20I against England, at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Wednesday. Photo: PTI
Kolkata: Abhishek Sharma struck a magnificent 79 off 34 balls as India beat England by seven wickets in the first T20 International here on Wednesday.
Chasing a paltry 133 for a win, India overhauled the target with 43 balls to spare as they reached 133 for 3 in just 12.5 overs. Abhishek made England pay for a dropped catch as he hit five fours and eight sixes during his hurricane 34-ball innings. His opening partner Sanju Samson made 26 off 20 balls.
Earlier, India bowled England out for 132 in 20 overs after the visitors were asked to bat by home team captain Suryakumar Yadav. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy (3/23) was the most successful Indian bowler while seamer Arshdeep Singh (2/17), Axar Patel (2/22) and Hardik Pandya (2/42) chipped in with two wickets apiece. For England, captain Jos Buttler played a lone hand with 68 off 44 balls.
Scorecard
England
Phil Salt †c †Samson b Arshdeep Singh 0 (3b), Ben Duckett c Singh b Arshdeep Singh 4 (4b, 1×4), Jos Buttler (c) c Nitish Kumar Reddy b Varun 68 (44b, 8×4, 2×6), Harry Brook b Varun 17 (14b, 2×4, 1×6), Liam Livingstone b Varun 0 (2b), Jacob Bethell c Abhishek Sharma b Pandya 7 (14b), Jamie Overton c Nitish Kumar Reddy b Patel 2 (4b), Gus Atkinson st †Samson b Patel 2 (13b), Jofra Archer c Yadav b Pandya 12 (10b, 1×4), Adil Rashid no 8 (11b, 1×4), Mark Wood run out (†Samson) 1 (1b); Extras: (b 5, lb 1, w 5) 11; Total: (All out in 20 overs) 132; Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-17, 3-65, 4-65, 5-83, 6-95, 7-103, 8-109, 9-130, 10-132; Bowling: Arshdeep Singh 4-0-17-2, Hardik Pandya 4-0-42-2, Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-23-3, Axar Patel 4-1-22-2, Ravi Bishnoi 4-0-22-0
India
Sanju Samson †c Atkinson b Archer 26 (20b, 4×4, 1×6), Abhishek Sharma c Brook b Rashid 79 (34b, 5×4, 8×6), Suryakumar Yadav (c) c †Salt b Archer 0 (3b), Tilak Varma no 19 (16b, 3×4), Hardik Pandya no 3 (4b); Extras: (b 4, lb 1, w 1) 6; Total: (For 3 wkts in 12.5 overs) 133; Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-41, 3-125; Bowling: Jofra Archer 4-0-21-2, Gus Atkinson 2-0-38-0, Mark Wood 2.5-0-25-0; Adil Rashid 2-0-27-1, Jamie Overton 1-0-10-0, Liam Livingstone 1-0-7-0