India vs England 1st T20I: Abhishek Sharma’s assault helps hosts to convincing win in opening game.

It was a rude welcome for Brendon McCullum as England’s white-ball coach as Abhishek Sharma made a mockery of the modest target with a 34-ball 79, which took India to a comprehensive seven-wicket win in the first T20 International at the iconic Eden Gardens on Wednesday with as many as 43 balls to spare.

Five fours and eight sixes just flowed off the bat of a Punjab left-hander but ensured that never after managing a miserable 132, the visiting batsmen in stipulated overs. The match went as surely under the auspices of 41 runs to open within merely 4.1 overs via Abhishek and Samson, who blasted over 20 from 26 to settle this once and forever later on how the house seals it very soon. After discovering his range, Abhishek never took his foot off the pedal, be it against pace or spin. Abhishek has been a bit of a hit-and-miss player in India colours till now. But on Wednesday, the 24-year-old provided the capacity crowd at Eden a masterclass in big hitting. For Abhishek to follow suit after watching Samson take the fight to England from the word go, he had to nail comeback man Jofra Archer for a boundary and a maximum in the third over with the run rate of the home team reaching 11 per over. Soon after, Samson would fall trying to clear Archer over the ropes. Captain Suryakumar Yadav faced just two balls, as the England pacer struck in the same over to send him packing for a duck.

But Abhishek was not going to be easily fazed as he hit two sixes and a straight four off the last over of the Powerplay as India comfortably placed at 63/2 after 6 overs, needing just 70 runs in 84 balls. He then went on to smash two more sixes and a four off leg-spinner Adil Rashid before bringing up his half-century in just 20 balls with a swivel pull for a maximum.