How Varun's spin puzzled England and why Buttler wants to be 'more aggressive'

The series was built up as a showdown between two powerhouse teams with thrilling batting line-ups but the opening T20I in Kolkata was anything but, thanks to India's spin attack astutely led by Varun Chakaravarthy. Extending his fairytale comeback into the Indian team, the 33-year old Tamil Nadu spinner ripped the heart out of England's batting and ensured it was a no-contest at Eden Gardens.

India's strong performance with the ball was initially powered by Arshdeep Singh, who used bounce and movement to remove the openers early. But Jos Buttler was batting well at the other end, including striking four boundaries in an over off Hardik Pandya, and received good support from Harry Brook in an encouraging third wicket stand that led England's recovery.

With Hardik Pandya being expensive at the start, Axar Patel being hit for two sixes in his first over and Arshdeep Singh having bowled three of the first five overs, India's selection for the game posed a few questions. Was it a wise decision to not include Mohammed Shami and instead lengthen their batting order by giving Nitish Reddy a game? With the partnership building, were India equipped with enough resources to contain England in the middle overs and the death?

The answer was provided by Varun. Bowling the last over of the powerplay, he conceded eight runs, with a boundary for Brook coming off an inside edge. Brook played one late past point to score another four in Varun's next over as England moved to 65/2. By the end of the over, it became 65/4, thanks to the spinner's guile. He forced Brook onto the frontfoot and bowled a wrong'un that the batter edged onto the stumps. He then beat Liam Livingstone on the drive to have him bowled for a duck.

Ravi Bishnoi played a good supporting role to Varun, keeping things tight at his end, that forced England to take some risks with Jacob Bethell falling to Hardik Pandya. Axar Patel also got amongst the wickets as England slipped to 103/7, with Varun being the architect of this downfall. But India still had Buttler to contend with. While the rest of the batters struggled, Buttler was in his own zone, bringing back memories of his hundred here back in IPL 2024, when he played a lone hand to lead Rajasthan Royals over the line against Kolkata Knight Riders in a chase of 224.

While the wickets kept falling, Buttler ensured the run-scoring did not cease as he struck two fours off Bishnoi. Varun came on in the 17th over to bowl his last, with Buttler welcoming him with a six over deep midwicket. But Varun persisted and soon enough, had Buttler out attempting a similar shot, with Nitish playing an important role in the dismissal as well, taking a superb catch in the deep.

When Buttler was going strong, a total in the vicinity of 160-170 seemed possible, and would have been a challenging one too considering England's pace attack. Buttler even admitted that had England come through the initial testing phase where the pacers had a bit of help, it was a good pitch to bat on. But Varun's impressive show - 3 for 23 in four overs, including one over each in the powerplay and the death - made all the difference.

We will come back harder - Buttler

Buttler, however, defended England's batting against spin and vowed to go even harder in the upcoming matches. "Obviously well beaten in the end, but a little bit of movement in the pitch. Probably lost a couple of wickets, but yeah, we just didn't quite impose the game that we wanted to play. If anything, (we want to) be more aggressive, come back harder in the next one.

"They're all really good players in the team and we know we're going to be hit by a lot of spin against India. I expect them to always play at least three spinners in the side. So, lots of guys are going to start against spin and stuff. So, it's just those individual plans and really committing to it to put the pressure back on them," said Buttler. "A few guys were probably facing a few of those guys for the first time as well. It would be better for seeing them. You want to play better and put them under pressure and get a big score that we can defend."

From side-spin to over-spin

Meanwhile, Varun showcased his adaptability on what seemed like a slightly pace-friendly wicket, with his experience at Eden Gardens proving crucial. Having started off as a mystery spinner who majorly bowled side spin and the carrom ball, Varun showed he has other skills too as he turned to over-spin to get the better of the English batters.

It has been a great comeback story for Varun, who after being left out of the Indian team following the 2021 T20 World Cup, has worked his way to becoming a key bowler for his country in the shortest format. He made his return to the national side during the Bangladesh series last year, and has since taken 20 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 11.70, a strike rate of 9.6, with an economy of 7.31. This includes three-plus wickets in an innings four times.

"I am used to seeing such pitches in the IPL. I know that it is for the seamers but I know there are certain lengths which are helpful for me. I am trying to keep it away from their arc, Bowling in the just-short length was holding a bit. Every over, bowling in Eden is challenging," Varun said after bagging the player of the match award. "To bowl to batsmen like Jos and other guys is definitely challenging. The last over was very tricky but by God's grace I was successful. What I realised was, I can't beat batsmen with side-spin. the only way I can beat the batsmen is through bounce."

Speaking to the broadcaster after the match, the spinner explained what he worked on that made a difference to his game. "After the 2021 World Cup, I analysed my bowling and what I found was I was bowling more sidespin, and I wasn't being able to beat the batsmen through sidespin. I worked out that I need to beat them with bounce. Then I started working with overspin. If it bounces more, the chances are I can get it to spin more."