England in India: Brendon McCullum's side thrashed in first T20 of new era

England, under the leadership of Brendon McCullum, have ushered in a new era of white-ball cricket, yet they suffered a crushing defeat against world champions India in the first T20 match in Kolkata. Facing the Indian spinners, England once again exposed their weakness against spin bowling, ultimately resulting in a heavy loss.

In the opening overs, Arshdeep Singh dismissed Phil Salt and Ben Duckett in quick succession within two overs. Subsequently, England's middle order crumbled under the pressure of the Indian spinners, leading to the entire team being bowled out for a mere 132 runs. Captain Jos Buttler fought a lone battle, scoring 68 runs off 44 balls, with Harry Brook coming in second with 17 runs.

Brook was undone by the impressive Varun Chakravarthy in the eighth over, who then dismissed Liam Livingstone two balls later, causing England’s scoring to stagnate and wickets to fall in quick succession. Jacob Bethell struggled to score 7 runs off 14 balls, Jamie Overton managed just 2 runs in the seventh position, and Gus Atkinson could only muster 2 runs off 12 balls before being dismissed by England's old nemesis, Axar Patel.

Chakravarthy dismissed Buttler in the 17th over, ending England's hopes of a big score, finishing with figures of 3-23. In India’s chase, Jofra Archer was impressive, ending with 2-21. However, India still cruised to victory with 7 wickets and 43 balls to spare, marking England's heaviest T20 defeat in terms of balls remaining.

Atkinson conceded 23 runs in his second over, while Abhishek Sharma, after the pressure was released, smashed 79 runs off 34 balls. This match exposed England's vulnerability against spin rather than a tactical error. Despite left-arm seamer Arshdeep striking twice early on, it was the spin that triggered their collapse, starting from 65-2 in the eighth over.

Only Buttler seemed capable of deciphering Chakravarthy’s mystery deliveries, hitting 8 fours and 2 sixes. Brook and Livingstone were undone by his googlies, and after that, only the England captain hit a four off Adil Rashid in the 19th over. Bethell and Atkinson in particular consumed a lot of balls without providing opportunities for Buttler. Overton was caught, and Atkinson was bowled by left-arm spinner Axar, who supported Chakravarthy with 2-22.

India’s young players were also outstanding in the field, with their ground fielding and catching, and they did not have too many of the stars from last year’s World Cup win. Mark Wood was dismissed off the last ball, and England never managed to get enough runs on a decent pitch. In contrast to India’s spin-heavy attack, England opted for a pace-oriented lineup to overwhelm their opponents.

Archer conceded only one run in his first over, and his four overs never wavered from the start as Buttler sought early wickets, which offered hope for the series and the year ahead, as he sets his sights on a Test return for the 2025-26 Ashes. Sanju Samson edged an uncomfortable Archer short ball to deep square leg in the third over of the England quick. India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, top-edged a ball in the same over, leading to three wickets.

However, the other England bowlers were punished, with Atkinson conceding 38 runs in his two overs. Abhishek, a 24-year-old left-handed opener, playing his 13th T20 match, was the main beneficiary. He was dropped on 29 off a leg-spin follow-through by Adil Rashid and then hit four, six, and six off the next three balls. He attacked the flanks all innings and pulled England's quick bowlers through fine leg. This highlighted the frightening depth of India’s strength after the T20 retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja, and served as a warning of things to come.

England captain Jos Buttler said: "There was some movement early on in the pitch that maybe we didn't expect. They found some movement, and we lost wickets. We want to play the game that we want to play. We didn't quite do that against good bowlers, but we'll learn from this game and look forward to the next one."

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav stated: "The way we started after winning the toss set the benchmark. We built on from there. All the bowlers had great plans. The way we batted was icing on the cake." Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy said: "I'm used to seeing wickets like this in the IPL. The length I bowled helped. I tried to keep it away from their arc."