So far, India has played only seven T20I games at the Eden Gardens
India's Test side may not have seen great results in the last few months. On the contrary, the T20 outfit has enjoyed a series of successes under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, who took charge in 2024 after Rohit Sharma's retirement.
Since then, India has not lost a T20I series and looks forward to maintaining the momentum against England from January 22 as both sides gear up for a five-match T20I series.
The first game of the series will be hosted by the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, a stadium where India has played only seven T20I matches since 2011.
How have the Men in Blue performed in the heart of West Bengal? Check out below.
As mentioned in the above paragraph, India has played only seven games at the legendary stadium. Out of seven games, India has won on six occasions against the likes of West Indies, New Zealand, and PAK. The only game that did not go in India's favour was the first T20I game that Eden Gardens hosted in 2011.
The first-ever international T20 game that the Eden Gardens hosted was between India and England on October 29, 2011.
New to the format, India was put to bat first but struggled horribly. The team managed only 120 runs on the board while losing nine wickets. Only player Suresh Raina scored 39 runs, whereas four batsmen reached double-digit figures but succumbed before getting 20 runs off their bat.
Captain MS Dhoni was only the second batter to cross the 20-run mark but lost the wicket at 21. The game also witnessed three ducks, such as Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, and Praveen Kumar, go back to the pavilion for zero.
In response, England chased the target in 18.4 overs, thanks to 53 runs by Kevin Pietersen in 39 balls. His effort earned him the Player of the Match award.
In 2022, the West Indies toured India and played three T20I games—all at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. India won all three games—the first by six wickets, the second by eight runs, and the third by 17 runs.
These three were the last T20 games that India played at the Eden Gardens.
England has played only two games at the Eden Gardens, having won the first against India, but the second game played against West Indies was lost.
For England, it was a heartbreaking loss, given the match was the ICC T20 World Cup finale of 2016. Batting first, England had scored a meagre 155 runs, but Marlon Samuels of West Indies hit 85 runs in 66 balls, whereas Carlos Braithwaite finished the game in style with 34 runs off 10 balls.
On January 22, India will hope to keep its momentum going, whereas England's sole aim would be to secure a win on the soil that once inflicted pain on them.
