ENG vs IND | 1st T20I | India hand England a 50-run thumping as Hardik Pandya steals the show

The Indian team proved too good for England in the first fixture of the ongoing three-match T20I series on Thursday (July 7) at Southampton. 

India won the toss on a relatively flat surface and opted to bat first. Captain Rohit Sharma was flawless with his lofted shots, providing a solid start to the Indian team. 

Soon, Moeen Ali was brought into the attack, who dismissed Sharma (24) and Ishan Kishan (8) in quick successions. Then, Deepak Hooda continued with the momentum and played an attacking inning of 33 from 17 deliveries. 

Afterwards, Suryakumar Yadav contributed with a quickfire knock of 39 off 19, looking confident as ever with his trademark shots. 

Hardik Pandya was impressive yet again with the bat as he brought up his maiden T20I fifty, smashing 51 off 33, laced with six fours and a solitary maximum. 

Axar Patel (17) and Dinesh Karthik (11) contributed in the latter part of the innings to help India post 198 on the board. Looking at the English batting line-up, it seemed like a par total initially. As it turned out, it proved to be more than sufficient.

With the new ball, Bhuvneshwar Kumar breached the defences of an in-form Jos Buttler (0) through a perfect in-swinger. In the fifth over, Pandya took the crucial wickets of Dawid Malan (21) and Liam Livingstone (0). 

In his second over, the Pandya ended Jason Roy's struggle, sending him back to the dressing room for 4 off 16. With the scoreboard reading 33/4, Harry Brook and Ali chipped in with a handy partnership, providing some hope for the Englishmen. 

Continuing with the trend of the evening, Moeen was dropped on 18 by Suryakumar Yadav in the 11th over. However, in the next over the all-rounder slammed a four and a six off Patel, threatening the 'Men in Blue' to make full use of the dropped opportunity. 

However, Yuzvendra Chahal broke the partnership by getting Brook (28), who holed out to Yadav at deep mid-wicket. A few balls later, Ali was also stumped, leaving England reeling at 100/6. 

Further, only Chris Jordan (26*) was a notable contributor in lessening the losing deficit as the Indian team registered a big win by 50 runs and took a lead in the series. For his brilliant all-round performance, Hardik Pandya was named as the 'Player of the Match'. 

Both teams will feature now in the second T20I, slated to be played on July 9 at Birmingham. 

Brief Scores: 

India- 198/8 (20)

Hardik Pandya 51 (33), Suryakumar Yadav 39 (19);

Chris Jordan 2/23, Moeen Ali 2/26

England- 148/10 (19.3)

Moeen Ali 36 (20), Harry Brook 28 (23)

Hardik Pandya 4/33, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/32

Result: India won by 50 runs