Fit again Mohammed Shami will be star attraction among all when India host England in the first T20I against England at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. India will play five T20Is and three ODIs against England, before both teams fly out for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Making a comeback into the Indian team for the first time after the 2023 ODI World Cup final, Shami returned after a long injury layoff and on the back of the some consistent performances with the ball for Bengal in domestic cricket. He has also been named in the ODI squad and the 15-member team for the Champions Trophy, starting next month.
On the other hand, England will begin their white-ball era under coach Brendon McCullum. The New Zealander, who was initially the Test team coach, has been given the responsibility to manage in limited formats too. England have already announced their playing XI.
India Vs England 1st T20 Match Date and Time: January 22, 7 PM IST
Ind VS ENG 1st T20 Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Live streaming of India vs England 1st T20I will be available on Disney-plus Hotstar. Star Sports channels will live telecast the India vs England 1st T20I.
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, Phil Salt (WK), Jos Buttler (C), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
India have played 24 matches against England in the shortest format of the game. Out of those, the Men in Blue won 13 while losing 11. On Indian soil, India have a slight 6-5 advantage over England in T20Is. The only time India played a T20I against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata was in 2011. England won that game.
The pitch at the Eden Gardens is expected to be a batting beauty. It will generally offer some seam movement and bounce with the new ball. As the game progresses, the condition will get better for batting with the lightning-fast outfield. Spinners might get some turn but it won't be significant. With the winter season still on, dew will play a crucial factor in the second innings. Teams winning the toss might chose bowling first, considering the dew factor in mind.
It will be an ideal day to play a T20I match. The skies are expected to be clear in Kolkata on January 22 with the temperature hovering around 28 degrees during the day while 16 degrees at night.
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