India vs England Preview: Team News & Prediction | 1st T20 International
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Mark Wood will play for England in this first T20i, whilst India turn their attentions back to white ball cricket following defeat in the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Date/Time: Wednesday January 22nd 2025: USA PT – 5:30am / USA ET – 8:30am / UK – 1:30pm
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India
Weather: Dry conditions with clear skies, light winds and temperatures reaching highs of 23c.
How To Watch On TV: UK – TNT Sports / US – Willow TV
How To Watch Online: UK – discovery+ / US – Willow TV
India Betting Analysis
India’s Suryakumar Yadav is the kind of player who can come in and give India a fresh injection of energy and dynamism having not played any part in the Border-Gavaskar trophy recently. ‘Sky’ has fast established himself as one of the premier T20i batters in the world today and has the potential to record a large individual score at Eden Gardens. His skill-set warrants investment specifically to score over 24.5 match runs in this encounter.
England Betting Analysis
England captain Jos Buttler is a regular high-level performer in India, having been a star in the IPL for many years. Adapting to conditions in the subcontinent shouldn’t be a problem for him and it would be no surprise to see the visiting skipper hit the ground running here with the bat. Bettors should consider multiple stakes on Buttler, including via the ‘Team - Top Batter’ market and ‘Batter Milestones’ market, specifically to score 30+ runs here through the latter market.
India vs England Expert Prediction
India come into this match as firm favourites but one can’t help but feel that things aren’t quite smooth sailing in their camp right now. Clearly the tour of Australia took a lot out of all concerned and head coach Gautam Gambhir could well be considered under pressure heading into this series. The new faces not normally involved within the Test set-up should give India a boost at least and their knowledge of conditions is important.
However, England have a number of players who have kept themselves busy with T20 cricket through the franchise circuit, whether it be the Big Bash, SA20 or ILT20. They are in a strong position to begin this tour well and with fast bowler Mark Wood back in the fold, backing England to surprise India in the opening game should be seriously considered.
India vs England Tip: England to win
