Suryakumar Yadav was an elated captain after India’s thumping seven-wicket victory over England in the first T20I of the five-match series against England at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday (January 22).

Suryakumar said India’s energy right from the outset set the benchmark and helped the team achieve a dominant win. The Indian skipper appreciated the bowlers by saying that they executed the plans brilliantly, while also adding that the performance of batters was icing on the cake.

“The energy, the way we started after winning the toss, that set the benchmark. We took it from there. All the bowlers having their own plans, executing that, having good energy on the ground and the way we batted was the icing on the cake,” Surya said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The captain opened up on the move to pick three spinners - Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel, in their playing XI.

“We wanted to stick to our strengths, 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,” he added.

Surya was effusive in praise of Varun and left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, who shared five wickets between them.

“He's (Varun) keeping things very simple, he's clear in his mind and most importantly, his preparations are on point. That's what makes him different from the others,” Surya stated.

“With experience, he's (Arshdeep) learning a lot, taking the extra responsibility. He knew he was the only bowler who could bowl with the new ball today and then it was Hardik. He took that responsibility and he's been doing it regularly,” he remarked.

Suryakumar signed off by saying that the Indian T20 side has been given a lot of freedom by head coach Gautam Gambhir to express themselves.

“There's a lot of freedom being given by Gauti bhai. We just want to play a little bit different from what we did in the 2024 T20 World Cup. We have our plans, we are batting the same way and very happy with the way we are going. We've been working really hard with the fielding coach in all the sessions. There's only one demand from him that we have good energy, take the half-chances and make a difference and that's what everyone is doing,” he concluded.

Coming to the first T20I, India bundled England out for a paltry 132 in 20 overs after the visitors were asked to bat. Varun (3/23) was the stand-out bowler while Arshdeep (2/17), Axar (2/22) and Hardik (2/42) chipped in with two scalps each. For England, captain Jos Buttler waged a lone battle with 68 off 44 balls.

In reply, the hosts rode on opener Abhishek Sharma’s brutal 79 off 34 balls to overhaul the target with 43 deliveries to spare.

The second T20I is scheduled to be played in Chennai on Saturday (January 25).

(With inputs from Agencies)