Summary

  • First T20, Kolkata

  • India chase down 133 with 43 balls to spare to win by seven wickets

  • Abhishek smashes 79 off 34 balls

  • England 132 (20 overs): Buttler 68 (44); Chakravarthy 3-23

  • India take 1-0 lead in five-match series

  • Second T20 in Chennai on Saturday (13:30 GMT)

Live Reporting

by Timothy Abraham & Matthew Henry

  1. Eng 7-1

    Showing his side the (new) way?

    Jos Buttler charges the second ball from Hardik Pandya and gets four down the ground.

    That's the first boundary.

  2. Get Involved

    #bbccricket, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (standard network charges apply)

    Jambarrell:· We may not bat down to 11, but at last we have six proper batters up top, rather than three or four then a pile of all rounders. And a proper left hander up top in Ben Duckett, rather than promoting Moeen Ali whenever we fancy it. Selection 100% better than previous regime

  3. Eng 3-1

    The crowd is, unsurprisingly, very loud after that early wicket.

    All-rounder Hardik Pandya is going to share the new ball.

    Ben Duckett has not faced a delivery yet.

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  5. Eng 2-1

    A misfield allows England's number three, a certain Jos Buttler, to scamper the first runs.

  6. wicket

    WICKET

    Salt c Samson b Arshdeep 0 (Eng 0-1)

    A three-ball duck!

    Phil Salt is done by a bit of pace and bounce off this pitch and awkwardly skies a leading edge into the night's sky.

    It's the simplest of catches for the wicketkeeper and the worst possible start for England.

  7. Eng 0-0

    There's swing for left-armer Arshdeep Singh early on.

  8. How's stat?!

    Kieran Parmley
    Cricviz analyst

    Carlos BrathwaiteGetty Images

    England return to Eden Gardens in T20Is for the first time since the 2016 T20 World Cup Final, i'm sure fans won't want reminding of the result that day.

    In more promising news, Phil Salt was the leading run scorer at Eden Gardens in IPL 2024 for Kolkata Knight Riders with 350 runs in 7 innings, averaging 58 while striking at 185 - skipper Jos Buttler also hit an unbeaten 107 in a successful run chase here last year.

  9. Jhulan Goswami, a legend of the India women's team, has just rung the bell to signal the start of play.

    Phil Salt and Ben Duckett - this new T20 opening partnership for England - are out in the middle.

    Ready?

  10. Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler on TNT Sports

    Looking at the dew factor England will want bowling options, because someone is going to disappear in such a high scoring ground. You can lose your confidence if it's not your night, so it's good for a captain to have options.

  11. Sir Alastair Cook
    Ex-England captain on TNT Sports

    Both sides are packed with all-rounders. There's almost a new generation of players where you have to be able to do both skills pretty well. England almost bat down to 11 with Mark Wood and Jofra Archer down there. India, meanwhile, have to seamers who are all-rounders. So both sides are trying to cover all options.

  12. What to expect from a McCullum white-ball team

    Brendon McCullumGetty Images

    Now the big question is whether a Brendon McCullum white-ball team will just mirror what we have seen from Bazball in the Test arena.

    Prior to taking the England job in 2022, McCullum had a fair bit of success as a franchise coach. He was a fine white-ball captain too.

    I had a look back and dived into some of the stats to see what we can expect from a Brendon McCullum white-ball team.

  13. Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler

    England were desperate for Brendon McCullum to add the white-ball team to his Test responsibilities.

    When England were beaten in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in June, it completed a dismal year in limited-overs cricket. Change was inevitable and the right call was made for coach Matthew Mott, rather than captain Jos Buttler, to walk the plank.

    I've seen first-hand why McCullum and Buttler can work well together. I played 62 England games alongside Buttler, not to mention countless days training, on tour and in the dressing room. I played against McCullum in 20 internationals and he was my T20 captain at Middlesex in 2017.

    Now McCullum has five Twenty20s and three one-dayers in India to mould his England team before the Champions Trophy next month. McCullum's mere presence will boost the players and smooth the path for Buttler to concentrate on what he does best: read the game and score runs.

    Read the five reasons why I believe the Baz-Buttler combination is ideal for England in my column.

  14. A look at India's new generation

    IndiaGetty Images

    It is a fresh-looking India side for the T20 series. Your Rohits and your Kohlis will be back for the ODIs.

    India are world champions in T20 cricket, of course. They have been on some run since then too with 13 wins from 15.

    They have scored 200 or more in seven of those T20s too. Watch out for Tilak Varma. He's quite something.

    India XI: Abhishek, Samson (wk), Varma, Suryakumar, H Pandya, Reddy, Rinku, Axar, Bishnoi, Chakravarthy, Arshdeep

  15. Sir Alastair Cook
    Ex-England captain on TNT Sports

    It should be a belting game with lots of runs. I think 200 will be par. It's the obvious thing with the dew to chase, because the ball is hard to grip and it skids on the bat a bit.

  16. 'Wicket looks sticky'

    India captain Suryakumar Yadav: "The wicket looks a little sticky. We trained her two times in the night and and there will be heavy dew later. I don't think the dew will make a lot of difference but will be heavy later on than it is right now.

    "The guys have been amazing in the last few series. The guys joining us from the [Test series] in Australia have brought a good energy. Preparations have been good and we are looking forward to a good series. It's going to be a great competition between both the sides. It's a good headache to pick a side but we want to stick to our strengths."

  17. This is your first England XI of the Bazball white-ball era...

    England XI: Salt (wk), Duckett, Buttler (c), Brook, Livingstone, Bethell, J Overton, Atkinson, Archer, Rashid, Wood.

  18. England captain Jos Buttler: "We would have done the same. It looks a good wicket and a little bit of dew around.

    "It is one of the great grounds in world cricket and always a pleasure to come play India in these conditions.

    "It is nice to be together, Brendon McCullum taking charge as well. He has a lot of experience here. We look forward to a great challenge and are right up for it."

  19. India win the toss and field
    Breaking

    First things first.

    India have won the toss in Kolkata. That could be a big one.

    The hosts, unsurprisingly given the dew factor, fancy a chase.

  20. Jos ButterGetty Images

    It all starts here.

    After two remarkable, mind-twisting years with the Test team, the Brendon McCullum white-ball era begins right here.

    England are all in on the New Zealander, hoping he can be the man to bring the good times back.

    England were world champions in both limited overs formats not too long ago.

    Now they have to climb the mountain all over again. McCullum and Jos Buttler have been tasked with guiding them to the summit.