Jos Buttler equals this T20I record of Nicholas Pooran
What's the story
England's cricket captain Jos Buttler has made history by equalling a major world record in the first T20I of the five-match series against India.
Though England lost at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Buttler was the star performer.
He scored 68 runs off 44 balls in the first innings, registering his fifth T20I half-century against India.
This ties him with West Indies's Nicholas Pooran for the most 50+ scores against India in T20Is, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Run accumulation
Buttler's impressive run tally against India
Buttler has scored a total of 566 runs against India in T20Is, at 35.37, just 26 runs short of Pooran's record of 592 runs.
He is now on the cusp of becoming the first player to score 600 T20I runs against India, needing just 34 more runs in the second T20I to do so.
This potential milestone further emphasizes Buttler's consistent performance in this format of cricket.
Match overview
India's victory and Buttler's lone battle
Despite Buttler's efforts, India won the first T20I by seven wickets with 43 balls to spare.
The home team was dominant with both bat and ball, restricting England to a total of 132 runs.
Apart from Buttler, only Harry Brook managed to get to double figures for England.
The Indian bowlers, led by stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav, curbed England's progress throughout the match.
Summary
How did the game pan out?
England had a horrible start after they were invited to bat, losing Philip Salt and Ben Duckett.
Although England recovered, Indian spinners ignited their collapse. Buttler's single-handed effort took England to 132/10 in 20 overs.
In response, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson added 41 runs before the latter departed.
Suryakumar Yadav also departed soon after, but Abhishek's 79 handed India a comfortable seven-wicket win (12.5 overs).
DYK
Buttler completes 12,000 T20 runs
The game also saw Buttler become the second Englishman and seventh player overall to score over 12,000 runs in T20 cricket.
He has raced to 12,035 runs in 430 T20 games at an average and strike rate of 35.08 and 145.29, respectively.
3,457 of these runs have come in T20Is at 36.01.
India's Virat Kohli, WI's Chris Gayle Australia's David Warner, Pakistan's Shoaib Malik, and WI's Kieron Pollard are the other players to have crossed the 12,000-run mark