IND vs ENG: 'Amazing Abhishek Sharma' knock crushes England as India outplay tourists in first T20I at Eden Gardens

Abhishek Sharma’s sensational 79-run knock scripted an iconic run chase for India against England in the first T20I of the three-match series. The men in blue completely outplayed the Three Lions and defeated them by a big margin of 7 wickets in the T20I series opener at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The hosts’ skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and asked Jos Buttler’s men to bat first. Batting first, England were bundled out at the score of just 132 runs in the entire 20 overs. It was only the English skipper Jos Buttler who played a gritty and ‘struggled’ knock of 68 runs off 44 balls amidst a batting collapse for his side.

Besides Buttler, Harry Brook and lower-order batter Jofra Archer were the only batters to touch the double-digit marks, scoring 17 and 12 runs, respectively.

Varun Chakravarthy ended up as the most successful bowler for India, scalping 3 wickets at just 23 runs in his four overs. Arshdeep Singh bowled the most economical spell of the game, conceding only 17 runs in four overs and scalping 2 wickets. Besides these two, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya and vice-captain Axar Patel also bagged 2 wickets each.

Abhishek Sharma rattles the English bowling attack

While chasing the target, India’s star opening pair of Sanju Samson and blistering Abhishek Sharma stitched a quick and fiery opening partnership of 41 runs in just 4.2 overs. In a short interval of just 3 balls in the fifth over, India lost their top two wickets. Sanju Samson went back to the pavilion after scoring 26 runs, hitting 4 fours and a six.

But then came the ‘Abhishek Sharma’ storm at the Eden Gardens that completely crushed the hope of the tourists in the game. The young opener smashed a swashbuckling knock of 79 runs off just 34 balls, with five fours and eight massive sixes. His match-winning and decisive knock played a most important role in helping India chase down the target of 133 runs in just 12.5 overs, scoring 133 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets. Sharma also won the ‘Player of the Match award for his blistering knock.

UNSTOPPABLE #AbhishekSharma! 💪

He brings up his half-century in style as the SIX FEST continues! 💥

📺 Watch it FREE on Disney+ Hotstar: https://t.co/CBKmsIywOl#INDvENGOnJioStar 👉 1st T20I LIVE NOW on Disney+ Hotstar & Star Sports! | #KhelAasmanipic.twitter.com/lM3i2LGoyu

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 22, 2025

Eventually, the defending World T20 champions won the first T20I by 7 wickets and got off the mark in the five-match series with a lead of 1-0.