The players are walking out for the national anthems..

Varun Chakaravarthy: I made a conscious decision to play all the domestic and all the other tournaments that goes around in India. I had a lot of games behind me, so that gave me the confidence in the IPL and when I was able to make a comeback for the country, that actually helped me a lot. That's why I wanted to play more matches - to test out what I was trying. Basically what I have observed is bowling more side spin in the highest level, the ball just keeps skidding on. I thought I have to impart more overspin in my leggings and googly, that's what I was working on. The last IPL I tried, it worked out 50-50 but in the 2024 IPL it was much better. That's how my progress has been. It took more than 2 years (to get familiar with it). (Bowling at this venue) The crowd supports and loves us. As I play for this franchise, they give more love to me. Eden is always a batter's delight but I am up for the challenge. Just stick with my basics. If it's my day, I am going to come up with the battle. If it's his (batter) day, he's going to do well. T20 cricket has grown leaps and bounds, all I can do is prepare well. I should not worry too much about the results.

Teams:

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 (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

Jos Buttler: Looks a good wicket, sure going to be a good match. There will be some dew around.

Suryakumar Yadav: We will look to bowl first. The wicket looks sticky, there will be dew later on. It will be heavier later on. The boys have been amazing. The preparations have been good,

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Right then, it's toss time..

Pitch Report | Deep Dasgupta and Nick Knight: The six-hitting festival starts today here at this iconic Eden Gardens Stadium. The average sixes hit in the last two years is 10 per innings in a T20 game. Dimensions - 59m and 66m square, straight down the ground is 75m. There's a nice tinge of green, not overly green and I don't think it's going to do a whole lot but it'll do enough. It'll carry a little bit as well. The tall England bowlers will get a little bit out of the surface. Generally this is a high-scoring venue. There'll be a lot of runs scored here. More carry and pace on this surface. Looks a bit drier right now, looks white-ish now, but the colour will change and will get darker as the game continues because of the dew factor. There'll be pressure on the bowlers. Not so much (help) for spin, don't think it's going to spin much.

18:00 Local Time, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST:

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

Preview by Gokul Gopal

Familiarity breeds success. England are keen to familiarise themselves with their revamped squad under the guidance of now all-formats coach Brendon McCullum. Meanwhile, India, well-versed in the demands of the T20 format, have redefined their approach, yielding impressive results. Both Phil Salt and McCullum understand what it takes to perform at Eden Gardens, as does skipper Jos Buttler, whose last outing on this ground saw him score a match-winning century for the Rajasthan Royals.

Varun CV doesn't have to familiarise himself bowling here, nor does Mohammed Shami or the rest of the Indian bowling unit. Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson and Rinku Singh are familiar with Eden Gardens, having delivered heroic performances at various moments, alongside other Indian batters who are equally attuned to the synergy and intensity required at this iconic venue.

The expectations are clear. High-scoring games have become standard in T20 cricket, and Eden Gardens is no exception. During the previous edition of the Indian Premier League, the 200-run mark was crossed eight times at this venue, including a record-breaking chase by the Punjab Kings, who overhauled the Kolkata Knight Riders' massive total of 261.

At the international level, India has been piling up massive scores, surpassing the 200-run mark seven times since the T20 World Cup - more than any other team. During this period, India's collective batting strike rate of 158.28 ranks as the second-highest among full-member sides, with England following at 151.66. Both teams excel at scoring big, and the message from their management will be just that: "Smash". And for the Eden crowd, familiarity = entertainment.

When: Wednesday, January 22 at 7:00 PM IST

Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

What to expect: The average first-innings total during IPL 2024 was 198 at Eden Gardens and four out of seven matches were won by chasing sides. Win the toss and bowl will be the obvious option for the captains, especially considering the dew factor. However, teams batting first have also won three out of four times in T20Is played at Eden Gardens since 2021.

Teams watch:

India: The focus will be on Mohammed Shami, with skipper Suryakumar confident of the veteran pacer delivering. The rest of the line-up is a tried and tested one, in what has been a smooth transition for the Indian team since their T20 World Cup triumph.

Tactics & Match-ups: Shami has dismissed Buttler thrice in 11 T20 innings and could prove useful when the England captain walks out to bat at No.3. Axar Patel and Varun CV have also dismissed Buttler twice each. Harry Brook has been out to leg spin three times in six innings in T20Is since 2023, which brings Ravi Bishnoi into play. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh could prove productive against Ben Duckett, who has fallen to left-arm pace twice in three innings in T20Is since 2023.

Probable XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mohammed Shami

England: Buttler confirmed that Ben Duckett will open with Phil Salt, with the latter also set to keep wickets. England announced their playing XI a day before the match, with Jamie Smith, Rehan Ahmed, Brydon Carse and Saqib Mahmood being the exclusions.

Tactics & Match-ups: Adil Rashid has dismissed left-handed batters 10 times in 22 T20Is since 2023, with an economy rate of 6.89, while Archer has bagged scalps of left-handed batters eight times in 16 innings, with an ER of 7.38. Both these bowlers could prove effective against the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. Rashid could also prove useful against Hardik Pandya, who has a strike rate of 108.45 against leg spin since 2023. Meanwhile, Bethell could be useful in containing Suryakumar, who has an SR of 103.89 against left-arm spin, and also Pandya (SR of 82.45).

Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Did you know?

- Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav have scored a combined 4304 runs in T20 cricket since 2024, with 9 centuries and 26 fifties collectively, with a combined strike rate of 167.53

- Among full-member teams, Arshdeep Singh is the highest wicket-taker among pacers in T20Is since 2024, with his 36 wickets coming in 18 innings at a strike rate of 10.8

- In IPL 2024, spinners had an economy rate of 8.73 at Eden Gardens whereas the pacers had an economy of 11.2

- Bowling in the powerplay has been an area of concern for England. Since January 2024, England have had an economy rate of 9.14 in the 1-6 over period, which is the highest among full-member teams. They have also picked up only 27 wickets in this phase, which is the second least.

What they said:

"It's always a good challenge playing against them. They have been good in almost all the formats. Even when they play T20, they have always been aggressive. And we also have a similar kind of batting order, so it will be a good challenge against them. And from the bowling point of view, we have a few plans. We have also discussed with them (bowlers), what kind of cricket they play, where they can feel a little discomfort. So all these things, we have been planning. We have been good, it's very relaxed" - Suryakumar Yadav, India captain.

"It's a really exciting tour coming to India with what I'd say is a full line-up for us. Sometimes there's so much cricket that certain players have to be rested or managed, but that's certainly not the case for us at all in this series. So we've got a full complement of players, which is really exciting" - Jos Buttler, England captain.

Squads:

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