England made the worst possible start to their India tour and they lost the series opener by a big seven-wicket margin. India chased down the target of 133 with ease to go 1-0 up. The bowlers did the job for the Men in Blue and didn't let the batsmen settle on the crease. Arshdeep Singh provided a dream start to India with 2 wickets.

Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel scalped 2 wickets each. Varun Chakaravarthy did the maximum damage with the ball and took a three-fer. The England batters couldn't read the mystery spinner and struggled against him.

Harry Brook put the blame on smog for England's struggles and hoped for clearer airer in Chennai. The city is scheduled to host the 2nd T20I on Saturday (January 25).

“Chakaravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler. But with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick. Hopefully, the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier," Brook said.

Brook scored 17 off 14 balls before being dismissed by Chakaravarthy. Jos Buttler was the only batter who managed to breach the 20-run mark. The England captain smashed 68 off 44 balls to take his team past the 100-run mark.

Abhishek Sharma was India's star performer with the bat and he scored 79 off just 34 balls. The left-handed batsman hit 8 sixes and five boundaries in his knock. He added 41 runs for the first wicket with Sanju Samson (26).

Chakaravarthy was bestowed with the Player of the Match award for his brilliant bowling performance. India are without the services of regulars Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. Abhishek did the job in their absence and will hope to continue his form. Mohammed Shami, who was benched for the first game, is unlikely to play in Chennai.

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