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India Abishek, Samson (wk), Tilak, Suryakumar (c), Hardik, Rinku, Reddy, Axar, Bishnoi, Varun, Ashdeep.
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England Salt (wk), Duckett, Buttler (c), Brook, Livingstone, Bethell, J Overton, Atkinson, Archer, Rashid, Wood.
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The Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav says the wicket looks a bit sticky. The dew should help the ball skid on when India bat. Jos Buttler would also have fielded first.
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There are so many brilliant young cricket writers and broadcasters around, and Taha is literally sitting at the top table.
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India’s T20 squad is radically different to the names selected for the one-dayers, when the more storied names – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah – return. But depth is rarely an issue here and Sharma and Kohli have been replaced with little trouble following their T20 retirements after the World Cup win last year in the Caribbean.
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A fresh top three of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma have six T20 international centuries between them in that period. They may even welcome the extra English pace at Eden Gardens, which hosted the highest successful T20 run chase last April, a Jonny Bairstow hundred helping Punjab Kings to score 262 with eight wickets to spare against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.
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India have won 13 out of 15 since lifting the trophy in Barbados, done with seven totals north of 200, including a staggering 297 for six in a 133-run win against Bangladesh in October. Those numbers are daunting, surely even for someone as relentlessly optimistic as McCullum.
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Buckle up, strap in, choose your own metaphor. Things are about to get lively. Three years ago, Brendon McCullum infused a woebegone England Test team with the spirit of white-ball cricket. Now he’s taking charge of the actual white-ball team. As spin-offs go, this could be anything from Frasier to Baywatch Nights. The only guarantee is that it won’t be dull.
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This is the first of eight matches on England’s short tour of India: five T20s, three ODIs. The match begins at 1.30pm GMT, 7pm in Kolkata.
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main events
In other news, India is without multi-generational, multi-format talent Jasprit Bumrah due to injury. In fact, only four players in the current eleven started in last year's T20 World Cup final: SKY, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh. But India's talent pool is one of the deepest in cricket history (I was going to say deepest, but I remembered). 1994-95 Australian A batting lineup) So don't bet your farm on England.
pre-game reading
Tanya Aldred is a genius. You know it, I know it. This is the latest evidence.
“Hi Rob, I'm looking forward to seeing you.” says Luke Dealtley. “I think you wrote about Luke Littler's win that he was a 'multi-generational talent.' I've always wondered if this is just exaggerated inflation or something worth studying. Who is the cricketer who is multi-generational rather than generational? Don Bradman is perhaps the only 'all-generational talent' in the sport. Please enlarge. ”
Look, we live in a world where multiple goats can obviously coexist. I'm just trying to survive there!
As with the term “world class,” the exact definition of “generational talent” is unclear. Why are Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham such generational talents? Doesn't that mean they're really good?
Maybe it's just a bunch of arrogant nonsense. And I might be the most arrogant eejit of all when it comes to using the phrase “multi-generational talent.” I always wanted to be the best in the world at something.
team news
The great Mohammed Shami, who has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final due to injury, was expected to make a comeback but did not feature. England have picked up the pace. India has three frontline spinners in Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi.
India Abhishek, Samson (wk), Tilak, Suryakumar (c), Hardik, Rinku, Reddy, Axar, Bishnoi, Varun, Ashdeep.
england Salt (wk), Duckett, Butler (c), Brooke, Livingstone, Bethel, J Overton, Atkinson, Archer, Rashid, Wood.
India wins the toss and bowl
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav said the wicket looked a bit sticky. The dew should help the ball glide when India comes to bat. Jos Buttler would also have played defense first.
England chose their team name early, as Buzz always does. It's very exciting. On a bad day, the pace attack adds distance, which can be a little too exciting.
Salt (wk), Duckett, Butler (c), Brooke, Livingstone, Bethel, J Overton, Atkinson, Archer, Rashid, Wood.
Taha Hashim Preview
There are many talented young cricket writers and broadcasters around, but Taha litBefore I knew it, I was sitting at the top table.
India's T20 squad will be radically different from the one-day selection, with more recognizable names returning such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. But depth is rarely an issue here, with Sharma and Kohli replacing each other with little trouble after their T20 retirements after last year's World Cup win in the Caribbean.
The new top three of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma have six centuries in T20 internationals in this period. Eden Gardens, which hosted the most successful T20 run chase in April last year, may welcome more of England's pace. Jonny Bairstow's hundred against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League helped Punjab Kings score 262 runs with eight wickets to spare.
India have won 13 of the 15 matches since lifting the trophy in Barbados and have posted seven totals of over 200, including a stunning 297 for six in a 133-run win over Bangladesh in October. times are recorded. These numbers are certainly daunting, even for someone as relentlessly optimistic as McCallum.
preamble
Buckle up, strap in, and choose your own metaphor. Things are getting lively. Three years ago, Brendon McCullum injected the spirit of white-ball cricket into England's declining Test team. Currently, he is in charge of the actual white ball team. As spinoffs go, this could be anything from Frasier to Baywatch Nights. The only guarantee is that you won't get bored.
This is the first of eight matches on England's short tour of India, which will include five T20s and three ODIs. The match starts at 1:30 pm GMT and 7:00 pm in Kolkata.
