India vs England 1st T20 prediction: Mark Wood to make impact on injury return

The white-ball era under Brendon McCullum gets underway on Wednesday when England take on India, in the first T20 match in Kolkata (13:30 live on TNT Sports and Discovery+ app).

McCullum has been in charge of the Test side since May 2022, and it was announced in September that he would be taking over ODI and T20 formats as he tries to improve the form of the limited-over side.

He has promised to deliver a “watchable brand of cricket” starting on Wednesday as England play the first of five T20 matches and three ODI internationals.

The former New Zealand international has already shown his intent by naming fast bowlers Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in the side, while Ben Duckett will open the batting for the first time in six years in the T20 format.

Another change is that captain Jos Buttler will not be wearing the gloves, instead Lancashire's Phil Salt will keep wicket and open the batting.

Cricket betting sites have the home side as favourites at 4/6, while you can get 7/5 on England opening the series with a win.

The last time they met in this format of the game was in June last year in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup and it was India who came out on top, triumphing by 68 runs, on their way to winning the competition.

The last time they played in India was in 2021 when they played a five-match series, which was won by the hosts 3-2, despite England winning two out of the first three matches.

Jofra Archer was named player of the match in the first game, after his three wickets for 23 runs helped England win by eight wickets, with 27 balls remaining.

Not too many of that team are still playing but skipper Buttler was the second top scorer for England with 28 runs as they chased down 125.

With the shackles off and a new man to impress I’m backing England to draw first blood and get the new era off to a flying start. And with the likes of Salt, Duckett, Buttler, Brook and Livingstone the batting lineup can be destructive to say the least.

India vs England 1st T20 prediction 1: England to hit the most sixes - 8/5 William Hill

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Mark Wood in action after he missed most of the summer with a stress fracture of the elbow.

He has not played since the first Test against Sri Lanka in August, and he will be champing at the bit to get back with the ball in his hand.

The 35-year-old has a pretty good record in India with five wickets in his last three matches and has enjoyed two spells playing in the Indian Premier League, so he should know the conditions, and betting sites are offering 3/1 on him finishing as England’s top bowler

India vs England 1st T20 prediction 2: Mark Wood to finish as England’s top bowler - 3/1 Unibet

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