What happened the last time India played England in a men’s T20I at Eden Gardens, Kolkata?

England's tour of India is set to commence on Wednesday, January 22, as the two teams are scheduled to play five T20Is, followed by as many ODIs. To start with, the two sides will face off in the first T20I tomorrow at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The last time that these two teams met at this venue in Kolkata was in October 2011, when India was led by MS Dhoni and Graeme Swann captained the English side. England toured India for five ODIs and played a one-off T20I before kicking off the 50-over series, which to date remains to be the only 20-over game played between the two sides at Eden Gardens.

The match was played at a time when the 20-over format had started to pick pace, courtesy of the inaugural T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League. It was an interesting win for England, who beat India in the penultimate over of the game.

Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. Robin Uthappa and Ajinkya Rahane opened the batting lineup for India, but neither of them could make a mark and were dismissed for 1(3) and 0(3), respectively.

Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina then led the charge and shared a 21-run stand for the third wicket. After Kohli’s dismissal, Raina kept going and shared another crucial partnership for the fourth wicket with Manoj Tiwary. The former was eventually dismissed for 39(29) and his wicket derailed India’s momentum.

Dhoni (21), Yusuf Pathan (10), and Ravichandran Ashwin (17) scored decent runs as India closed at 120/9 after 20 overs. Steven Finn was the pick of the bowlers, registering 3/22, while Tim Bresnan and Ravi Bopara picked up two wickets each.

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Kevin Pietersen’s heroics guided England to a win over India

Coming to the chase, England opener Craig Kieswetter was dismissed inside the powerplay, scoring 12(10). His opening partner Alex Hales too couldn’t make a mark and was dismissed soon after the powerplay for a 19-ball 11.

It was Kevin Pietersen who then led the charge for the visitors with a brilliant half-century. He shared a game-defining 60-run stand with Samit Patel for the third wicket. After Pietersen’s dismissal, Ravi Bopara was quick to score the remaining runs, as England clinched a six-wicket win with eight balls to spare.

Pietersen was named the Player of the Match for his heroics as the visitors claimed a memorable win. India completed their revenge by winning the ODI series 5-0 as the Englishmen ended their India tour on a disappointing note.