India defeated England by seven wickets in the first match of the five-match T20 series. The Indian team achieved the target of 133 runs in 12.5 overs. This is India's victory in the least number of overs while chasing a target of more than 130 runs in T20 International. Team India broke a four-year-old record in this matter.

Fastest 130+ run chase
In fact, before this, India's record of chasing a target of more than 130 runs in T20 International was 15.2 overs. India did this against Namibia in 2021. At the same time, in 2024, Team India also chased a target of 130+ runs in 15.2 overs against Zimbabwe. In the Kolkata T20 against England, India left all these records behind. Abhishek Sharma's stormy innings and Varun Chakraborty's spin forced England to accept defeat.

Arshdeep-Hardik also in special list

England lost the toss and batted first. Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya also achieved a special feat in this match. Arshdeep became the highest wicket-taker for India in T20 Internationals. He has 97 wickets to his name. Arshdeep left Chahal behind. Chahal has 96 wickets to his name. Hardik reached third place in the list. He has 91 wickets and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has 90 wickets. Varun Chakraborty took three wickets, while Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel got two wickets each. Due to this, the England team was able to score 132 runs. Captain Jos Buttler scored the highest 68 runs for the English team.

Abhishek's stormy innings

In response, India won thanks to Abhishek Sharma's explosive innings. Abhishek scored a half-century in 20 balls, which is the joint third fastest half-century for India in T20 on Indian grounds. Abhishek scored 79 runs in 34 balls with the help of five fours and eight sixes. Sanju Samson scored 26 runs. Tilak Verma remained unbeaten on 19 runs and Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on three runs. The next T20 will be played in Chennai on January 25.