England's captain Jos Buttler, second left, congratulates India's Tilak Varma after India won the first T20 cricket match against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. AP Photo/Bikas Das England's captain Jos Buttler, second left, congratulates India's Tilak Varma after India won the first T20 cricket match against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. AP Photo/Bikas Das

Abhishek Sharma smashed the second-fastest T20I half-century by any Indian batter against England to help Men In Blue register a thumping victory over visitors at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. (Match Blog | Streaming)

The 24-year-old completed his fifty in just 20 balls and went on to make 79 runs off just 34 balls which helped India beat England by seven wickets with 43 balls to spare. He hit eight sixes and five fours in his match-winning knock.

Earlier, India captain Suryakumar Yadav invited visitors to bat first in Kolkata. Arshdeep Singh started with the wicket of Phil Salt in the first over. He dismissed Ben Duckett in his next over to become the highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is with 97 wickets. He overtook Yuzvendra Chahal who has 96 wickets in 80 innings.

Varun Chakaravarthy bowled brilliantly and took three crucial wickets in the game. He also dismissed the set batter Jos Buttler (68 off 44 balls) and was named Player of the Match for his bowling figures of 4-0-23-3.

Despite the dewy conditions, India went in with three spinners: Ravi Bishnoi (0/23 in 4 overs), Axar Patel (2/22 in 4 overs), and Chakravarthy -- backing record-breaker Arshdeep Singh's fiery opening spell.

These two teams are meeting for the first time in the tournament in pool stage.

India managed to halt their opponents to just 132 runs in 20 overs. Pandya, Singh and Patel took a couple of wickets. Bishnoi remained wicketless but bowled economically.

India have won the toss and have opted to field first against England in Kolkata.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

England: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Suryakumar Yadav: We will look to bowl first. The wicket looks sticky, there will be dew later on. It will be heavier later on. The boys have been amazing. The preparations have been good, looking forward to this series. It's going to be a great competition between both sides. A good headache, we want to stick to our strengths.

Jos Buttler: Looks like a good wicket, I'm sure it's going to be a good match. There will be some dew around. It's a great ground, it's an honour to play against India in these conditions. Everyone is in a good spot. It's nice to be together, a lot to look forward to. McCullum taking charge, he has a lot of experience. It's going to be a challenge, we are right up for it. There is some incredible talent on both sides. Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith and Rehan Ahmed will miss out.

Mohammed Shami will have to wait for his international return as Suryakumar Yadav chose Arshdeep Singh as the sole seamer in the playing XI with Nitish Reddy and Hardik Pandya as seam all-rounder options.

India will play only five T20Is and three One-day internationals before the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy 2025 hosted by Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with India set to play all of their matches in Dubai (UAE).

When is India's 2nd T20I match against England?

India's 2nd T20I match against England will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Saturday, 25th January 2025.

Where to watch the India's 2nd T20I match against England?

The TV broadcast of the 2nd IND Vs ENG T20I will be available on the Star Sports Network in India.

The live streaming of the 2nd IND Vs ENG T20I will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website in India.mega swerte