Watch: 4, 4, 6, 4, 4! Sanju Samson destroys Gus Atkinson in 1st T20I at Eden Gardens

Sanju Samson, on Wednesday (January 22), came out all guns blazing with the bat in the first T20I between India and England at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Bowling first, India came up with a brilliant display as they bowled out England for a modest total of 132 runs. Asked to bat first, England were off to a disastrous start, losing two wickets inside three overs. Arshdeep Singh struck in the very first over to send back Phil Salt for a three-ball duck in the first over.

In the third over, the left-arm pacer struck again to send back Ben Duckett and reduce England to 17 for 2. England captain Jos Buttler then hit a number of boundaries to give the innings some much-needed impetus. He and Harry Brook shared 48 runs for the third wicket before the latter was dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy in the 8th over.

In the same over, the India spinner also dismissed Liam Livingstone for a duck to leave England 4 down for 65. After that, England kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually all out for 132 runs.

Also Read: Watch: Hardik Pandya throws ball at defenseless Jos Buttler as batter collapses during Kolkata T20I

At the end of the 10th over, they were on 74 for 4 and were looking destined to post a 150-plus total. However, India's bowlers did a fine job to restrict England to just 132 runs. Buttler was the highest scorer for the visitors, scoring 68 off 44 balls.

No other England batsman could even reach the 20-run mark. For India, Chakravarthy was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets while Arshdeep, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel claimed two wickets each.

Sanju Samson takes Gus Atkinson to the cleaners:

After the bowler's brilliant display, it was the batsmen's turn to deliver and Sanju Samson did not disappoint. The in-form batsman, who had hit three centuries in the last 5 T20I innings, started his innings with a bang, taking Gus Atkinson to the cleaners.

He started the innings by playing 5 straight dot balls in the first over bowled by Jofra Archer before taking a single on the last ball. And in the second over, Sanju Samson was at his best as he toyed with Atkinson. He hit the pacer for four fours and a six in the over to collect 22 runs.

Watch as Sanju Samson blows Gus Atkinson away:

4⃣, 4⃣, 6⃣, 4⃣, 4⃣

Dial S for Stunning, Dial S for Sanju Samson 🔥 🔥

Follow The Match ▶️ https://t.co/4jwTIC5zzs#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IamSanjuSamson | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/F6Ras6wYeb

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 22, 2025

Atkinson looked absolutely distraught after the over and did not get to bowl another over in the powerplay. Talking about the game, India were on 93/2 at the end of the 9th over at the time of writing this report.

The reaction of Gus Atkinson after Samson smashed 22 runs in his over. pic.twitter.com/qgBx7lfEpS

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 22, 2025