India v England T20I Cricket LIVE – Brendon McCullum's white-ball ...

India produced a dominant display in the opening match of the five-game T20I series against England as the Brendon McCullum era got off to an inauspicious start with a seven-wicket defeat at Eden Gardens.

Having been put in to bat, England were undone by excellent powerplay bowling from Arshdeep Singh and 12 overs of world-class spin through the middle overs, as the tourists limped to just 132 all out, losing their final wicket off the last ball of the 20 overs.

India were always overwhelming favourites to chase down a modest 133 on a batting-friendly surface in Kolkata, and they made easy work of the task while entertaining the crowd with some vibrant strokeplay.

Abhishek Sharma slammed eight sixes in all as he bashed a fiery 79 from 34 deliveries, with India reaching their winning total of 133/3 with 7.1 overs to spare.

You can watch and live stream every ball of the India v England T20I and ODI series in the UK on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Sir Alastair Cook and Steven Finn are looking back on that game in the TNT Sports studio and are full of praise for India’s powerful display, with Cook saying:

And Finn says he picked up a technical trend that England may do well to implement as the tour continues.

"Only two batters really got going today, Abhishek Sharma and Jos Buttler, and they both stood there with quite strong, solid bases, watched the ball and stayed in their shots for a long time. They got their power from there, they weren’t trying to force the piece.

"I think moving through this tour that’s something England can look at; when trying to get your power, having a solid base like those two did is the way forward.

Remember that you can watch the analysis from Cook, Finn and host Kate Mason throughout the series on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Mark Wood comes back to bowl his rockets, and a top edge off Tilak Varma races away to the rope off the fifth ball of the over to seal the win for India, who wrap it up with 43 deliveries in hand. That’s about as convincing as it gets and puts India 1-0 up in the series.

Abhishek Sharma, bowled Adil Rashid caught Harry Brook, 79 (34)

Abhishek picks the wrong’un and dispatches it into the stands for six. He almost goes next ball, but the onrushing Bethell can’t hold on. But Rashid finally does get the wicket as Abhishek holes out to Brook in the deep.

He departs to a standing ovation having slammed 79 from just 34 balls.

Atkinson is back into the attack and is hammered to all parts by Abhishek, who is seeing the ball like a football right now. He starts off the over with a big six over long-off, and finds the boundary next up with a beautiful drive.

Tilak Varma gets in on the act with a boundary of his own, and India are racing towards the winning post here.

Livingstone comes into the attack and is dispatched to the boundary through the off side by Abhishek first up.

A clipped single brings the hundred up after exactly ten overs. The players take drinks with India on course for a crushing winning margin.

Overton comes in the attack. He’s in the side partly to bowl heavy deliveries through these middle overs, but this isn’t quite the match scenario that suits him right now, and he is hooked miles into the stands by Abhishek second up as the opener brings up his fifty from just 20 deliveries.

At this point there is zero pressure on the India top order and they can take big risks. A slice from Abhishek gives Archer a moment of interest, but the ball drops agonizingly safe as the fielder runs back from the ring.

England need everything to stick if they are to stand any chance of pulling off something special here, but it’s not going well today, and Adil Rashid drops a return catch off his own bowling to give Abhishek a reprieve.

The opener makes him pay, ending the run with a hat-trick of boundaries, including two monster sixes, to take 16 off the over. Brutal hitting.

There aren’t many positives for England today, but one of them is this performance from Archer, who is showing that he remains one of the leading white-ball bowlers in the world despite his injury issues in recent years.

He almost picks up a third wicket, only for the ball to drop just short of the onrushing Atkinson in the deep, and a steepling bouncer strikes Tilak on the helmet off the last ball, dropping safe after flicking the glove on its way through.

Just four singles come from the over and that’s the end of Archer, who has bowled straight through, taking 2/21 in his four overs. India will be relieved to see the back of him.

Abhishek tucks into Wood to end the powerplay in style, taking advantage of the express pace to dispatch him for back-to-back maximums at the start of the over. A stylish drive back over the bowler’s head later in the over means that 18 runs come from it in all.

Sanju Samson, bowled Jofra Archer caught Gus Atkinson, 26 (20)

Suryakumar Yadav, bowled Jofra Archer caught Phil Salt, 0 (3)

England get the breakthrough as Samson is rushed by Archer, slicing a catch to Atkinson in the deep. The opener has done his job though, getting India off to a fast start in search of their modest total.

And Archer picks up his second wicket of the over, bagging the prized scalp of Suryakumar Yadav, as a slower ball bamboozles the world’s top-ranked batter. Phil Salt takes the steepling catch.

Tilak charges the England pacer off the last ball of the over and edges out of the reach of Salt. Bizarre shot, but it means four runs.

Unsurprisingly, Atkinson is withdrawn from the attack after his expensive over and it’s Mark Wood who is introduced in his place.

He gets up to top speed right in his first over, but the fizzing pace even does for Phil Salt, as a 95mph delivery cuts Samson in half and swings out of reach of the keeper, racing away to the boundary.

An inside edge saves Samson off the last ball of the over. Pure fire from Wood… not that it looks like saving England today, but it’s positive for the rest of the tour.

Any pressure on India’s openers has been lifted by that brilliant second over, and it means that the pair can open their arms and go after Archer.

Abhishek slices him away for four midway through the over and then somehow gets underneath a decent delivery at the back end of the over, picking out the crowd.

Wood hits the stumps with a run-out attempt off the final ball of the over as a quick single is turned down, but Abhishek is safe. The throw should probably have gone to the other end.

Atkinson takes the new ball from the other end and Samson predicts a short ball first up, latching onto it and dispatching the bouncer for four. The bowler isn’t very happy with the surface and so out comes one of the crew with a bucket of sawdust to try and dry out the footholes.

After a brief stoppage Samson gets the crowd on their feet with a glorious cover drive, played on the up. That’s lovely batting.

Samson punishes Atkinson again with the best of the lot, charging the England bowler and slamming him over the off side all the way for six.

Clips off the pads finishes the over with two more boundaries as Samson shows his world-class qualities. That’s 22 runs off the over and India will be wrapping up this game quickly at this rate.

England need wickets early if they are to deny India here and they go attacking with the field as Jofra Archer takes the new ball. It’s an excellent opening over, having Samson hopping around, and the only run off the over is a quick single from the final delivery.

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INDIA REQUIRE 133 TO WIN

Eden Gardens has been a big-scoring ground in recent years, but England have been unable to keep that record going with a scratchy batting performance in their opening innings of the tour of India, scraping to 132 all out after being put in to bat in Kolkata.

With the exception of Jos Buttler’s brilliant 44-ball 68, England struggled to find any fluency with the bat in a disappointing first innings of the Brendon McCullum white-ball era.

The brilliance of Arshdeep Singh in the powerplay accounted for both England openers, and India’s spinners turned the screw through the middle overs, drying up the runs and taking frequent wickets as the tourists limped through their innings.

Varun Chakaravarthy was the pick of the spinners with 3/23, while Axar Patel also bagged 2/22. Arshdeep’s new-ball events saw him finish with impressive figures of 2/17.

Ravi Bishnoi bowled tight but was the only one of India's five bowlers not to pick up a wicket. And Hardik Pandya was the only expensive bowler on show, going at almost five runs an over more than any other bowler, conceding 2/42 from his four overs.

Harry Brook (17 from 14) and Jofra Archer (12 from 10) were the only England batters other than Buttler to reach double figures, with the England skipper performing on a different level, striking ten boundaries in his inspired 68 from number three – an innings that was ended by a brilliant catch in the deep from Nitish Kumar Reddy as Buttler looked to push on in the death overs.

Jofra Archer, bowled Hardik Pandya caught Suryakumar Yadav, 12 (10)

Mark Wood, run out Sanju Samson, 1 (1)

Very good running earns Archer two off the first ball of the final over, much to Hardik’s disappointment, and Archer rubs salt into the wound with a top-edged hook that runs away for four.

Archer’s little cameo comes to an end as a slower-ball bouncer is clipped into the air and caught by the India skipper at point.

England try and steal a single off the last ball of the innings, but Samson throws the stumps down to run out Mark Wood and that means England’s innings finishes on 132 all out.

England do indeed go after the quicks, and after an Archer drive is well stopped in the ring, Rashid goes inside out against Arshdeep, hammering him over cover for an excellent four. It’s been some time since his batting exploits in the county game, but it’s almost cliché by this stage to bring up Adil Rashid’s ten first-class centuries.

India opt for a review as Archer misses with a clip off his pads, and there’s no bat involved, but the impact is well outside the line. That’s a second poor review of the day from Arshdeep – the only negative of an otherwise excellent day for the strike bowler.

Four singles come off Axar’s final over as England’s tail tick the score upwards. They will surely go for some big hits off the pace in the last two, but it’s going to be an extremely sub-standard score regardless of what happens here at the death.

Jos Buttler, bowled Varun Chakaravarthy caught Nitish Kumar Reddy, 68 (44)

Buttler launches Chakaravarthy’s first ball of the over into the stands with a huge six that even the home fans appreciate.

But the noise is bigger next ball as Reddy dives forward and takes a catch in the deep to end Buttler’s sensational knock. The umpires go upstairs to check that the catch has been taken cleanly, which it was, and the decision stands. That is a remarkable bit of fielding actually, superb stuff.

Buttler has been the only England player to perform today, and his excellent knock will likely be overshadowed by the underperformance of his teammates.

Adil Rashid is the new batter and England will look to scrape together what they can from the remaining few overs here.

Gus Atkinson, bowled Axar Patel stumped Sanju Samson, 2 (13)

Atkinson isn’t picking the spin at all and, aware that he’s soaking up a lot of deliveries, goes for a big heave off Axar, missing completely but putting off the keeper enough that it runs away for four byes.

But Atkinson’s tricky innings comes to an end when he looks to hammer away the spinner again and finds only fresh air, with Samson stumping him with ease.

Just two singles come off Bishnoi’s over as Atkinson struggles to line up the India spinner. With five overs remaining of the first innings, India are well on top in this game.

Jamie Overton, bowled Axar Patel caught Nitish Kumar Reddy, 2 (4)

Overton is the next to head back to the England dugout as he goes for a big shot off Axar that he mistimes. It’s a tricky catch in the circle but Nitish Kumar Reddy holds on well to leave England six down.

There’s still some big-hitting lower-order options to come, but England’s hopes rest largely on Buttler here to get them up to a total that will give the bowlers something to work with.

Buttler looks like he’s batting in a different game completely today and he drills Bishnoi to the rope twice in the over to keep his and England’s score ticking upwards.

Jacob Bethell, bowled Hardik Pandya caught Abhishek Sharma, 7 (14)

Buttler clips a short ball from Hardik away for a single and that’s his half century, coming off 34 deliveries. It’s an outstanding knock, and even more impressive given its contrasting nature to the rest of the efforts from the England batters today.

Bethell very nearly plays on next ball, escaping with an inside edge that runs away for two. But Bethell’s scratchy knock does come to an end later in the over as he pulls straight into the hands of Abhishek in the deep.

England are in real trouble and need something special to get up to an even vaguely competitive score.

England aren’t in a position to put their foot down and so tick things over as safely as possible off Bishnoi. Six runs come from the over, including two wides.

India is jubilant as Chakaravarthy and Samson celebrate a stumping as Bethell overbalances. The umpires aren’t convinced and sent it upstairs, and the replays suggest there was a slither of the boot grounded behind the crease. The third umpire certainly thinks there was, and so Bethell survives.

England tick to 74/4 at the midway point of the innings, and the India team are full of smiles as they head for drinks.

Bishnoi is into the attack and England are content to take it steady as they start to rebuild. Four singles come from the over.

Harry Brook, bowled Varun Chakaravarthy, 17 (14)

Liam Livingstone, bowled Varun Chakaravarthy, 0 (2)

A delicious late cut from Brook has Chakaravarthy staring at the sky in frustration. But the spinner strikes back next ball, squeezing one through Brook’s defences, via an inside edge and pad.

And Chakaravarthy strikes quick again, bamboozling Livingstone and ripping one through a chasm of a gap between bat and pad, cleaning him up for a second-ball duck. Livingstone’s been in rough touch recently in the SA20, and unfortunately that lean spell has continued here.

Jacob Bethell strolls out to the middle with England in need of a significant rescue job.

More spin from India and Brook lines up Axar’s second ball, launching him for a huge drive for six. That is a wonderful shot.

Buttler gets in on the action later in the over, picking up a slightly short delivery and dispatching it many rows back in the crowd. Good work in the deep saves a four off the last ball of the over, but 15 runs come off the over.

India turn to spin for the first time, and Chakaravarthy has Brook struggling. An inside edge runs away for four before Brook scrambles off strike.

Buttler is denied a boundary off the final ball of the over as a terrific piece of fielding in the deep from Nitish turns four runs into two.

That’s the end of the powerplay. India will be the happier of the two teams at this stage, but England will be encouraged by Buttler’s display so far.

Arshdeep continues and England get a bit of a let-off when SKY fails to collect in the ring with a run-out opportunity on the cards.

A big swing and a miss from Brook gets the crowd excited and India think they’ve spotted something so, after a long debate, go upstairs for a review.

Ultra edge says no, there is no bottom edge, which you can also see from the massive gap between bat and ball. That’s not a great review.

Three runs come off the over – excellent again from Arshdeep.

Buttler is really tucking into Hardik here, finding the boundary four times in the over to turn the momentum right back in England’s direction. A single off the final ball of the over means he’ll keep the strike after an 18-run over. Brutal batting.

Ben Duckett, bowled Arshdeep Singh caught Rinku Singh, 4 (4)

Arshdeep strikes again! The ball after being scooped by Duckett he gets the England opener, once again off a leading edge, with Rinku Singh taking an outstanding catch at cover.

England are in a spot of bother here, but credit to Arshdeep, it’s outstanding bowling.

Ooh that is a lovely shot. Buttler charges Hardik and absolutely lashes him straight back down the ground for a blistering four. That’s a signal of attacking intent from the England skipper, and he picks up another boundary in the over, not quite controlling a booming shot but seeing the ball slice away over the infield and away for four to the deep backward point boundary.

Phil Salt, bowled Arshdeep Singh caught Sanju Samson, 0 (3)

Arshdeep gets the ball to talk right from the off, swinging the ball both ways. And he picks up an early wicket, with Salt getting a big leading edge that soars into the night sky and is safely held by Samson. It’s a brilliant start with the ball from one of the best new-ball bowlers around.

A misfield gets England and Buttler off the mark and just three runs come off an excellent opening over.

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The new era of India T20I cricket continues, with their rejuvenated squad having won 13 of their 15 matches since lifting the World Cup back in July.

They have posted totals of 200+ in five of their last six matches, and are absolutely packed with big-hitting stroke players… although we’ll have to wait until the second innings to see them show off their skills.

First up it’s the bowlers who will get a go, and India have a ton of options – eight in all. The front-line spinners, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel will be hoping to restrict England’s big-hitters, and there’s always Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma as all-rounder spin options should England particularly struggle against the slower stuff.

Arshdeep Singh has been one of the best quick bowlers in the world in the last year in the T20 format, and he will be supported with pace on by all-rounder pair Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

England’s team selection has a few particularly interesting tweaks. Ben Duckett opens the batting for the first time in T20Is, Phil Salt will keep wicket rather than captain Jos Buttler, and with the bat Buttler continues his new role at number three, slated to come in before Harry Brook.

Jamie Overton’s explosive batting performances in franchise tournaments have been enough to convince England that he’s an experiment worth trying for the ‘finisher role’, and the presence of both Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell in the top six means that England have seven bowling options even though they’ve not called up recent all-rounder options such as Sam Curran, Dan Mousley and Will Jacks.

With the ball, England are looking to go with pace, with Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson joining Overton as the four quick options, with Brydon Carse and Saqib Mahmood potential rotation options for later in the tour.

Adil Rashid continues to be the stand-out spin option in English cricket, although Rehan Ahmed is once again on this tour as his development as Rashid’s long-term replacement continues.

T20 cricket in India in recent years has seen a trend: runs, runs and more runs. The last couple of seasons of the IPL and India’s home T20I series have seen bat dominate ball, and while there’s no guarantee of high-scoring matches with two bowling attacks of this quality, if you were going to predict run-fests then these would be the conditions when you’d feel safest to do so.

On this Eden Gardens surface the toss could well prove significant. The last seven wins have come from the team bowling first… as India do today.

You can watch and live stream every ball of the India v England T20I and ODI series in the UK on TNT Sports and discovery+.

India: Abhishek, Samson (wk), Tilak, SKY (capt), Hardik, Reddy, Rinku, Axar, Bishnoi, Varun, Arshdeep

England: Duckett, Salt (wk), Buttler (capt), Brook, Livingstone, Bethell, Overton, Atkinson, Archer, Rashid, Wood

T20 series don’t come with much higher quality than this. England are able to pick their best fit squad, which hasn’t been true for quite some time in the white-ball set-up, and those fit players include both Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, both of whom will play today. The squad selection for England suggests a move away from quite such an all-rounder heavy strategy, and there is talent throughout the squad.

But hitting the ground running could be tricky in this new England era, given the quality of their hosts.

India’s triumph in last year’s T20 World Cup gave them the flexibility to bring in fresh talent to the squad without seeming like they were undermining the country’s biggest names, and that rejuvenation of the playing pool has been a triumph so far, with some of the more consistent IPL performers bringing their qualities straight into the national set-up. It’ll take a very good side to come out on top against this Indian squad, particularly in their home conditions.

Ravi Shastri and the two captains are out in the middle, although it appears nobody has told Mr Shastri that he has a microphone in his hand. He excitedly yells that India have won the toss and will bowl first – news that is greeted by roars from the home fans.

Rarely in recent years has there been so much interest in an England bilateral T20 series, but this tour of India represents the start of a new era for the English white-ball team.

This is the first time that Brendon McCullum will take charge of the side following the decision to make up coach across all formats, and, whatever your opinion of their quality, it is undeniable that he has made an enormous impact on the Test side in the past few years.

Now he will hope to have a similar impression on a white-ball set-up that has underperformed significantly in recent years, putting in hugely disappointing displays in the last T20 World Cup and 50-over World Cups.

Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of India versus England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Stay tuned for build-up, news from the toss, and live text commentary of this first T20I of the series.