England in India 2024/25, IND vs ENG 1st T20I Match Preview

The big picture: teams in change

Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum have many things in common. They both were brilliant opening batsmen, they both were captains and coaches of Kolkata Knight Riders at different times, they both were known for their “aggressive” mindset when it came to facing the game from the dugout, and now , they both find themselves trying to lead teams in change.

Things have been easy for India at least in this format, with three superstars bidding farewell to their careers with T20 World Cup medals around their necks, and the others fitting in comfortably with wins against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa. Are happening. England, one of the most exciting white-ball teams in world cricket, have been struggling in ICC tournaments since winning the T20 World Cup in 2022.

This means McCullum will enter the India T20I series as England’s white-ball coach for the first time, with the ambition to maximize the team’s unfulfilled potential. And for Gambhir, the aim is to show that the T20I team remains unaffected by the poor Test results that have rocked the establishment.

In this background, India and England may face each other in a five-match series. test the limits The smallest format. And as the lines between T20I and ODI continue to blur, there will be opportunities for some T20I specialists to stake their claims for ODI positions in the future – especially after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy.

Five potentially captivating T20 batting surfaces await both sides over the next fortnight, and the first salvo in Kolkata will provide a glimpse of what to expect.

form guide

India WWLWW (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
England LWWWW

In the spotlight: Bethel and Shami

Very few youngsters have such an aura right now jacob bethelHe made explosive international debuts in all three formats in late 2024. He has stint with Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, and has an IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore without playing a single game in India. The left-handed batsman has developed a reputation for smashing spinners for fun, is a useful left-arm spinner himself, and is considered an electric fielder in the ring and on the boundary line. Can there be a better T20 cricketer in this era? Bethel’s stock, which landed at number six in the first T20 match against India, has never been so high. England sees him as one of their future superstars. Now he just has to succeed in India’s challenge.

On the other hand, Mohammed ShamiThe 34-year-old is returning to international action after ankle surgery and a knee injury. He has not played international cricket since India’s defeat in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, and despite India trying out other fast bowlers in the interim, it feels like Shami is India’s second-best fast bowler behind Jasprit Bumrah. Are made. India have taken a gamble by selecting him for next month’s Champions Trophy and the focus will be on how his body fares in the T20Is and ODIs against England. It is also the perfect way for him to return to his domestic-cricket home ground.

Team News: Archer, Wood combination, but what about Bishnoi?

England captain Jos Buttler said he was particularly pleased with every first-choice T20I player available for this series. They have already announced their eleven, in which Phil Salt will take the gloves and Ben Duckett will open with him. Buttler himself will be at No. 3, and England also have the pace and fit bodies of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood to attack India. While Wood is the only player in the XI without a century in senior cricket, he can still hit the big shots, and that makes England one of the most dangerous batting outfits at the moment.

England: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jos Buttler (c), 4 Harry Brook, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jacob Bethel, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood

India have two key decisions to make: how many spinners to play, and how deep their batting should look. Arshdeep Singh, Shami and Hardik Pandya should be the pace bowlers, while Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel could be the two spin options. This probably leaves India having to decide between seam-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, spin-bowling allrounder Washington Sundar and a complete wrist spinner in the form of Ravi Bishnoi. England are strong with right-handed batsmen and struggle against fingerspinners, two factors that could decide India’s final choice.

India (Probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Tilak Verma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (captain), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Nitish Kumar Reddy/Washington Sundar/Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun Chakraborty.

Pitch and conditions: Dew and plenty of runs

Kolkata is going to present a tough deck with real bounce. The boundaries are short, and the ball will get wet very quickly in January. This means that Eden Gardens should be a batting paradise. Both Suryakumar and Buttler felt the conditions would be the same regardless of the toss result, so expect a belter with dew all around.

Stats and Trivia: Arshdeep Chahal is close

Among Full Members, England have the second-worst batting average against fingerspin since the start of 2024: 26.8. Against top teams like Australia, South Africa and India, it drops to 13.88 at a run rate of just 6.74.
Arshdeep is only one wicket short of 95 wickets in 60 T20Is behind yuzvendra chahalWho leads the pack for India in the format. If Arshdeep reaches the 100-wicket mark in this five-match series, he will become the fastest bowler to reach there in T20Is. Currently, Haris Rauf is the fastest T20I bowler to reach 100 wickets, achieving the feat in 71 matches. Additionally, since Arshdeep’s T20I debut, no bowler has taken more wickets in the powerplay (40) or in the last five overs (46).
India has not accepted any defeat Bilateral T20I series At home in the last six years. Their last defeat was against Australia in February 2019. In 16 series since then, India have won 14 and drawn two.
Since the T20 World Cup 2024, India have scored 9.2 runs per over in the powerplay, a surprising 10.3 in overs 7-15 and 10.9 in the last five overs. Over this period, no team has had a better run rate or better balls-per-boundary ratio (4.7) between overs 7-15.
Archer has been towering over both Suryakumar and Hardik, with both the batsmen having scored only 116 runs against him at an average of 14.5 and 19 respectively.

Citation

“It’s a really exciting tour in India, I would say for us, the whole line-up. Sometimes there is so much cricket that some players have to be rested or have to be managed. But definitely for us That’s not the case at all in this series.”
jos buttler He believes England have covered all the bases

“Eden Gardens is a special feeling, because that’s where I played when I started playing regularly.”
Suryakumar YadavThe man who became an IPL regular for Kolkata Knight Riders for the first time will be looking to make the most of the opportunity on Wednesday

Shrestha Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx

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