3 things India need to do right to beat England in the 1st T20I ft. Ravi Bishnoi & Varun Chakaravarthy

India have been in a rich vein of form in T20I cricket under Suryakumar Yadav. The Men in Blue have carried on from where they left off in the 2024 T20 World Cup to string together a series of bilateral series wins.

India's upcoming series against England might just be Suryakumar's toughest test to date as skipper. Jos Buttler and company, like the Men in Blue, have won four of their last five matches in the format and boast plenty of talent in their ranks.

Gautam Gambhir, the team management, and the captain will need to be at their absolute best from a strategic perspective in the series opener, which will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22.

India's squad for the T20I series against England: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).

On that note, here are three things India need to do right to beat England in the first T20I.

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#3 India need to use the pace of England's fast bowlers

England & India Net Sessions - Source: Getty

England announced their XI for the first T20I against India on the eve of the match. Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Jamie Overton, and Gus Atkinson will make up an exciting four-pronged pace attack for the visitors.

All four bowlers are capable of cranking up the speed, and India's batters will need to counter them smartly. The short square boundaries in Kolkata will play into the hosts' hands, and also key will be using the express pace offered by the quartet.

Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya are among those who have often tried to hit hard lengths well in front of square, thereby locking their arms and struggling. They will need to hang back and make the most of the dimensions of the ground.

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#2 India will need to hit Adil Rashid out of the attack

England Media Access - Source: Getty

Adil Rashid will be England's sole specialist spinner in the first T20I against India. The Men in Blue will need to take the attack to the leg-spinner and force Buttler to bowl part-time options like Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell.

While Livingstone lost his radar at times in his recent SA20 outings for the Pretoria Capitals, Bethell's bowling is useful but not entirely reliable at this point. Forcing England to get overs out of them will go a long way in India gaining control over the match.

India have several good spin hitters, including left-handers Abhishek Sharma, Axar Patel, and Tilak Varma, to put Rashid under the pump.

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#1 India need to play both their specialist spinners

International Series 1st T20: South Africa v India - Source: Getty

Speaking of spinners, India will need to give themselves a point of difference in the bowling attack. Playing both Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi, at the expense of batting depth, could be the hosts' best bet at troubling the power-packed lineup.

Bishnoi and Chakaravarthy have played in tandem to great effect in recent series, and England's batters won't want to face them through the middle overs. The latter, who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders, will know the conditions inside out and has been in an excellent run of form too.