
Opening batter Abhishek Sharma went on to smash a fiery half-century in the first T20I at Eden Gardens in Kolkata as India defeated England by seven wickets to take a lead of 1-0 in a five-match series. Batting first, England were bowled out for 132 runs in 20 overs. After that, Abhishek went on to complete his fifty in just 20 balls as India registered a dominating victory in the first T20I in Kolkata. Talking about the match, Indian skipper Surykumar Kumar won the toss and asked England to bat first. Arshdeep Singh gave India the first breakthrough in the first over itself as England lost first wicket without any run on board with Phil Salt getting a three-ball duck.
In the third over, Arshdeep struck again as England lost their second wicket at the score of 17 runs. After that, English skipper Jos Buttler took charge of the innings and went on to play a captain’s knock of 68(44) runs as England were able to cross 130 runs. For India, Varun Chakrvarthhy took 3 wickets by conceding 23 runs in four overs, while Arshdeep Singh registered figures of 2/17. Apart from that, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel also scalped two wickets each. India now need 133 runs in 20 overs to take a lead of 1-0 in the T20I series.
Abhishek Sharma smashes fiery fifty as Inida take 1-0 in T20I series
Chasing the winning target, India got a flying start as Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma added 41 runs for the first wicket in 4.2 overs. Samson got out after scoring 26(20) runs. After that, Abhishek Sharma took charge of the innings and went on to smash the English bowlers all over the park.
Abhishek Sharma got out after smashing 79 runs off just 34 hitting five fours and eight sixes. After that, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma gave finishing touches as India chased the winning target with seven wickets in hand, taking a lead of 1-0. The match of the series will be played at M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on January 25.