England secured a five-wicket victory over India in the first men's T20 international at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, chasing down a target of 149 with eight balls remaining.
Match summary
India, batting first, posted 148 for 6 in their 20 overs. Captain Rohit Sharma top-scored with 48 off 32 balls, while Suryakumar Yadav added 34. For England, Chris Jordan took 2 for 24 and Adil Rashid claimed 2 for 31.
In reply, England reached 149 for 5 in 18.4 overs. Jos Buttler led the chase with an unbeaten 68 off 42 balls, hitting eight fours and two sixes. Moeen Ali contributed 35 off 28. India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2 for 30.
Key moments
England's chase began steadily, but they lost early wickets. However, Buttler's aggressive innings kept them ahead of the required rate. The winning runs came from a boundary by Buttler off the bowling of Harshal Patel.
India's total seemed competitive after a strong start, but England's spinners, particularly Rashid, slowed the scoring in the middle overs. Jordan's death bowling restricted India to a modest total.
Impact
The win gives England a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second T20 is scheduled for Friday at Edgbaston in Birmingham. India will look to bounce back and level the series.
According to England captain Jos Buttler, "It was a good all-round performance. The bowlers set it up nicely, and we chased it down well." India captain Rohit Sharma said, "We were probably 15-20 runs short. We need to bat better in the middle overs."
