India vs England 2025, 1st T20I – Match Preview

India will lock horns against England in the first T20I at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday. The series could turn into a run-fest as two batting powerhouses will collide with each other on fresh Indian pitches. 

The dew factor can also come into the game and thus bowling first would make more sense. We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.

Current form of England: NR L W W W

England registered a 3-1 series win against the West Indies in November and they would aim to kick off their 2025 on a high. The Three Lions have a potent batting unit and the pace duo of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood would also hold the key.

Current form of India: W W L W W

India has ticked the right boxes while playing at home and they also won their previous series against South Africa while playing away. Suryakumar Yadav has backed the players to play their natural game and the youngsters have grabbed their opportunities with both hands.

Head to Head: Matches: 24, Won by India: 13, Won by England: 11.

Players to look out for: Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, and Arshdeep Singh will be the crucial players for India.

Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood will be the key players for England.

England (Playing XI): 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 Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana

England Squad: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith, Rehan Ahmed