India vs England: Weather and pitch report for 1st T20I
What's the story
The five-match T20I series between India and England will kick off at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Wednesday.
This will be the first meeting between the two sides since their T20 World Cup semifinal last year, which India won by a whopping 68 runs.
Moreover, the Men in Blue have been on a roll in recent bilateral T20I series against England.
Here we look at the pitch and weather report for the series opener.
Pitch report
Eden Gardens pitch favors both bowlers and batsmen
Eden Gardens, the venue for the opening game, has hosted 12 T20Is so far with an average first innings total of 155 runs, as per Cricbuzz.
Although it is a bowler-friendly surface, recent IPL records suggest that batsmen have also flourished here.
In IPL 2024, four out of seven games at this venue witnessed teams scoring over 200 runs.
Weather forecast
Favorable weather conditions expected for 1st T20I
The weather on match day looks promising as Accuweather predicts a day temperature of 28°C, which will drop to a comfortable 16°C in the evening.
The wind speed will be WNW at 6km/h. Despite air quality concerns, there are no predictions of precipitation or thunderstorms, ensuring an uninterrupted game for fans.
A minimal cloud cover of just 3% is expected over Kolkata during this time.
Match strategy
Dew factor and high-scoring games anticipated
The dew factor is expected to play a part in team strategies, with both sides likely to bowl first if they win the toss.
Considering Eden Gardens's reputation for high-scoring games and the presence of big hitters in both teams, a high-scoring series opener is on the cards.
This sets the stage for an exciting start to the five-match T20I series between India and England.
Player spotlight
Key players to watch out for in 1st T20I
India's captain Suryakumar Yadav, despite a recent lean patch in South Africa, is expected to perform well at Eden Gardens.
Sanju Samson, who ended 2024 with three T20I centuries but was overlooked for the 2025 Champions Trophy squad, will also be under scrutiny.
For England, the pace duo of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will be crucial in countering India's strong batting lineup.
XIs
Here are the probable XIs
England playing XI: 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 probable XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mohammed Shami.