Abhishek Sharma pummels England as India romp to victory in first T20
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This was a reminder. For all of England’s obvious pedigree – power with the bat, high pace with the ball, trophies already in the cabinet – Brendon McCullum has a bit of work to do. A white-ball setup that has had a difficult couple of years was swept aside by a team that is running hot, India claiming their 14th win out of 16 since taking the T20 World Cup last year, a seven-wicket victory secured with 43 balls left.
![[India's Abhishek Sharma plays a shot on his way to 79 from 34 balls]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2269a171e789f8790df6af7d33f50ca074b0416b/0_0_5424_3616/master/5424.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
A comprehensive Indian chase was set up by a tale familiar to England across formats: a struggle against spin. While Jos Buttler impressed with a 44-ball 68, his teammates floundered during the middle overs. The variety of Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi was too much, the trio going at under six an over, the first two sharing five wickets. In what was billed as a run-fest, England managed just 132.
Then came the electricity of a futuristic batting line-up that had amassed more than 200 in five of their past six matches. Sanju Samson kicked things off with 22 off one Gus Atkinson over, but the night was Abhishek Sharma’s, a left-hander who lets the hands fly. His staggering 34-ball 79 brought the premature finish, McCullum’s time as all-format head coach beginning with a serious thump.
Both sides lined up with enterprise in their batting but differed in their method for wickets. A day out from the game England had named a bowling attack featuring four quicks while India opted for just one specialist fast bowler in Arshdeep Singh. The hosts, with three full-time spinners, backed their slow stuff against McCullum’s need for speed.
