Hardik Pandya taking the new ball gives me opportunity to play three spinners: Suryakumar Yadav

Hardik Pandya shared the new ball with Arshdeep Singh in the first T20I clash between India and England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22. When Suryakumar Yadav announced at the toss that Arshdeep was playing as the only specialist seamer, it took some experts by surprise. However, the presence of a genuine seam-bowling all-rounder in Hardik allowed the Indian team management to go in with three spinners.

The move paid dividends as Hardik picked up two wickets and the spinners also stifled the England batters with their consistency and guile. Suryakumar acknowledged Hardik's impact as Arshdeep's new-ball partner, saying that it allowed the hosts to play to their strengths.

"We wanted to stick to our strengths, and we did the same thing when we played in South Africa. Hardik took the responsibility of bowling with the new ball. So I had a little bit of cushion to play that extra spinner, and all those three are doing a wonderful job," Suryakumar Yadav said after the match on Wednesday.

Suryakumar also praised his teammates for bringing excellent energy onto the field as India dominated proceedings against a hapless England side.

"The energy, the way we started after winning the toss, set the benchmark. We took it from there. All the bowlers had their own plans, executing them with good energy on the ground, and the way we batted was the icing on the cake," the captain added.

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England could only manage 132 runs in their 20 overs, with Jos Buttler top-scoring with a 44-ball 68. Varun Chakravarty was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he finished with remarkable figures of 3/22 in four overs. Arshdeep, Hardik, and Axar Patel chipped in with two wickets a piece.

The Men in Blue chased down the below-par total with ease after Abhishek Sharma played a belligerent 79-run knock of 34 balls. India reached home in the 13th over with seven wickets to spare and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.