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

The series opener in Kolkata was a one-sided affair, thanks to India's spin attack led by Varun Chakaravarthy. The 33-year old spinner took 3-23, restricting England to 111/8.

Initially, England was recovering well with Jos Buttler and Harry Brook building a partnership. However, Varun's guile changed the game as 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 and Axar Patel supported Varun, keeping things tight and forcing England to take risks. England's batting struggles continued, with Buttler being the only batter in form. He struck two fours off Bishnoi and a six off Varun, but was soon dismissed by the latter.

Buttler admitted that England lost a couple of wickets due to the movement in the pitch and should have imposed their game more aggressively. He vowed to be more aggressive in the upcoming matches.

Varun showcased his adaptability on a pace-friendly wicket, turning to over-spin to get the better of the English batters. He has taken 20 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 11.70 since his return to the national side during the Bangladesh series last year.

Speaking after the match, Varun said he realized he couldn't beat batsmen with side-spin and needed to beat them with bounce. He worked on overspin and found success, getting the ball to spin more with increased bounce.