Hardik Pandya is a key member of the Indian team, said Suryakumar Yadav after India won the opener of the five-match series against England in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Playing at Eden Gardens, India hammered England by seven wickets, owing to their sensational bowling unit.

After the bowlers restricted England to just 132 runs, Abhishek Sharma ran riot in the second innings, helping India chase down the target in just 12.5 overs. Suryakumar Yadav credited India's sensational bowling performance to Hardik Pandya, who has helped India add more variety to their attack.

On the day, Pandya picked up two wickets - one of Jacob Bethell and then another of Jofra Archer, which helped him surpass the wicket-tally of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the T20I format. Hardik is now the third highest T20I wicket-taker for India.

Suryakumar hailed Hardik's bravery in bowling with the new ball alongside Arshdeep Singh and said that it has allowed India to play a slightly different brand of cricket after the 2024 T20 World Cup. The skipper said that with Hardik bowling the new ball, India could fit three spinners in the lineup, which gives them incredible variety in the format.

"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.

The batter also lauded the team's energy in the first T20I after they saved multiple boundaries in the first innings.

"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.

'Arshdeep taking Extra Responsibility'

The skipper concluded with high praise for Arshdeep Singh, who became the leading wicket-taker for India in the T20I format on Wednesday. Arshdeep went past Yuzvendra Chahal's record with wickets of English openers in the powerplay. Arshdeep's swing in the early overs turned out to be too hot to handle for the batters as they were left reeling in the powerplay.

"With experience, Arshdeep's learning a lot, taking on 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. There's a lot of freedom being given by Gauti bhai. We just want to play a little bit differently from what we did in the 2024 T20 World Cup. We have our plans, we are batting the same way, and we're 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," concluded the India T20I captain.

India will play the second T20I of the series in Chennai after a two-day break. The second game is scheduled to take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on January 25, Saturday.