In Gautam Gambhir’s den always trust his instincts. Be it strategy or game planning, he hardly got it wrong during his days as Kolkata Knight Riders captain and mentor at Eden Gardens.

There was a sense of disbelief all around on Wednesday evening when India decided to delay Mohammed Shami’s comeback and go in with three spinners on a wicket which offered bounce though the dew set in quite early. But Gambhir trusted his impulse even as England relied on pace.

Abhishek takes half century shots during the England vs. India T20 cricket match at Eden Gardens on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Picture by Sanat Kr Sinha

The difference was stark. While England were bowled out for 132, India cantered to a seven-wicket win in 12.5 overs, Abhishek Sharma’s 79 off 34 balls taking them home.

England seemed to relive the nightmares of their Test drubbing at the hands of India’s spinners almost a year back. There was neither Ravichandran Ashwin nor Ravindra Jadeja but Varun Chakravarthy proved devastating after Arshdeep Singh landed the opening blows.

Axar Patel profligacy in his opening over didn’t last long as he returned to pick two wickets with support from Ravi Bishnoi in the middle overs.

But Chakravarthy made perfect use of his ‘home’ conditions utilising the drift and turn that his accuracy offered. Having switched from a side-spin to over-spin bowler since the last IPL, he is now more lethal be striking the perfect length. There was more deviation from the surface which resulted in two of his three dismissals on Wednesday.

He bemused Harry Brook with a wrong’un as the ball dipped in to rattle the stumps. A ball later Liam Livingstone played the wrong line in anticipation for the turn.

Varun (3/23) has always been a thinking bowler. His pace and the bounce he generated from this wicket meant he was always hitting the top of the bat. It made him difficult to get away and the batters faltered in their effort to clear the ropes. Jos Buttler’s dismissal was a case in point and it literally ended England’s chances.

Without trying too many variations, Varun now relies more on revolution and drift. He has restricted his variations, rarely using the carrom ball. The ploy has fetched him success and there’s been no looking back.

If England struggled to unravel the Varun mystery, Arshdeep once again showed why he is regarded the best in this format.

He got rid of Phil Salt with the third ball of the match, a snorter which the opener failed to get away in an effort to turn it on the leg side.

The left-arm seamer became India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is with 97 scalps — overtaking Yuzvendra Chahal — in his next over, dismissing Ben Duckett. It dashed the visitors’ hopes of a robust start.

Fluent strokeplay

Abhishek showed that batting wasn’t that tough on this wicket and repaid the team management’s faith despite few low scores in his last home series against Bangladesh.

The lefthander’s shot selection was perfect (5x4, 8x6) as he blazed through the England attack though Jofra Archer did try to make his presence felt in his return match.

England read the conditions wrongly and the Indians were far superior in their approach. Gambhir can hardly put a foot wrong on what is always regarded as his second home.