India, England kick-start white-ball leg in Kolkata: 1st T20I preview
What's the story
India, the reigning T20 World champions, are gearing up to host England in a five-match T20I series.
The series will begin on January 22, with the first match being played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.
The upcoming clash is viewed as a renewal of their rivalry and an important part of both teams' preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Here's the 1st T20I preview.
Details
Venue, pitch, and streaming details
The pitch at the iconic Eden Gardens is known for its lively nature.
Pacers garner swing early on, and the wicket aids spinners throughout the match. Notably, 143 is the average score batting first here in T20I cricket.
The Star Sports Network will broadcast the match live, while live-streaming is available on the Disney+ Hotstar app. The match begins at 7:00pm IST.
Record
A look at head-to-head record
In their last T20I meeting, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side crushed England, in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final.
However, England had earlier defeated India in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final by 10 wickets.
Overall, India have a slender lead over England in T20I encounters (13-11). On Indian soil, the hosts have six wins and five defeats against the Brits.
Star players
Shami's return to bolster India
The upcoming series will see veteran pacer Mohammed Shami make his first international appearance since the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup final.
Axar Patel has been named India's vice-captain for the England T20I series with Suryakumar Yadav at the helm.
On the other hand, skipper Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Phil Salt, and Harry Brook are the key players for England.
Line-ups
Here are the Probable XIs
India (Probable XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Varun Chakravarthy.
England (Probable XI): Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (captain and wicket-keeper), Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood.
Milestones
Key milestones on offer
Buttler needs four maximums to become the first Englishman to complete 150 sixes in the T20I format. His counterpart Suryakumar is five short of the same milestone.
Arshdeep is set to become the first Indian with 100 T20I wickets, while Sundar is three shy of clocking 50 wickets in T20I cricket.
Livingstone needs 119 runs to complete 1,000 runs in the format.