CRICKET | India, brimming with confidence, will look to extend its lead over England

India dominates England in T20 opener, eyeing series lead in Chennai; focus on Shami's return and England's spin challenge.

India lived up to its billing as the top-ranked side in T20Is in the series opener against England in Kolkata, posting a thumping seven-wicket win on Wednesday.

As the action shifts to Chennai for the second T20, Suryakumar Yadav’s men will look to consolidate and establish a handy lead in the five-match series when the two teams meet at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.

More than the victory, the manner in which the reigning T20 World Champion brushed past the visitor showed that a new order had been set for how the team would play the shortest format going forward. Taking a leaf out of their opponent’s playbook, the Men in Blue have fully embraced the high-octane, all-out attack mode.

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma epitomised the new approach when they took on the fiery English quicks with disdain in the PowerPlay. Abishek, who smashed 79 off 34 balls, needed only two balls of sighting before he flayed Jofra Archer for a four and six over point. It was a sign of things to come as he then dispatched thunderbolts from Mark Wood and Jamie Overton over the ropes effortlessly en route to a 20-ball half-century.

The modest 133-run target, though, was made possible by an impressive bowling performance led by India’s spin troika of Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi. What seemed like a surprising move to play three tweakers turned out to be game-changing after they sent in 12 overs and scalped five wickets between them for just 67 runs.

Once Arshdeep Singh removed the openers cheaply, Varun (three for 23) completely turned the game in India’s favour, wrecking the middle-order as England’s batters appeared clueless against his guile and deception. And the challenge could get even tougher for Jos Buttler’s men at Chepauk where the surface has traditionally assisted the slower bowlers. The contest could once again boil down to how well England’s batters tackle the home side’s formidable spinners.

On the team front, all eyes will be on Mohammed Shami and whether he will play his first international game in 14 months. His omission in the first game at Eden Gardens raised concerns around his fitness, but on Friday the 34-year-old pacer bowled for nearly half an hour in the nets.