India vs England 1st T20I Playing 11 and Toss Report: IND opt to bowl first, Mohammed Shami misses out Kolkata T20

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India vs England Toss, Playing 11 Report: Suryakumar Yadav-led India opted to bowl first after winning the toss against England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on January 22, 2025 (Wednesday).

After opting to bat first, Suryakumar Yadav confirmed that Mohammed Shami is not playing the match while addressing he is not fit yet while the hosts went ahead with Arshdeep Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Hardik Pandya as pace trio while three spinners were opted, including Varun Chakravarthy.

"We will look to bowl first," said Suryakumar. "The wicket looks sticky, there will be dew later on. It will be heavier later on. The boys have been amazing. The preparations have been good, looking forward to this series. It's going to be great competition between both the sides. A good headache, we want to stick to our strengths."

Meanwhile Jos Buttler said: "Looks a good wicket, I'm sure it's going to be a good match. There will be some dew around. It's a great ground, it's an honour to play against India in these conditions. Everyone is in a good spot. It's nice to be together, a lot to look forward to. McCullum taking charge, he has a lot of experience. It's going to be a challenge, we are right up for it. There is some incredible talent in both sides. Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith and Rehan Ahmed will miss out."

India vs England Playing 11 for 1st T20I

India Playing 11: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

England Playing 11: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

India vs England 1st T20I Pitch Report - Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Speaking for official broadcasters Hotstar, experts Deep Dasgupta and Nick Knight said: "The six-hitting festival starts today here at this iconic Eden Gardens Stadium. The average sixes hit in the last two years is 10 per innings in a T20 game. Dimensions - 59m and 66m square, straight down the ground is 75m. There's a nice tinge of green, not overly green and I don't think it's going to do a whole lot but it'll do enough.
"It'll carry a little bit as well. The tall England bowlers will get a little bit out of the surface. Generally this is a high-scoring venue. There'll be a lot of runs scored here. More carry and pace on this surface. Looks a bit drier right now, looks white-ish now, but the colour will change and will get darker as the game continues because of the dew factor. There'll be pressure on the bowlers. Not so much (help) for spin, don't think it's going to spin much."