India vs England: Jos Buttler stars but Brendon McCullum's white-ball era begins with disastrous defeat
It is fair to say Brendon McCullum would not have wanted the start of his tenure as England white-ball head coach to begin with such a comprehensive defeat.
Both of these sides have been touted to be 'in transition' but after the first T20I, it seems one is on a much faster trajectory than the other.
There is almost an irony in the result too given the focus on Jos Buttler in the build-up to this series and what his role in the side will be moving forward.
While the gloves have been taken away from Buttler and continuous questions have been raised about how he fits in the batting line-up, McCullum made it clear that one of England's greatest white-ball players still has a long career in the international team.
In the first T20I on this five-match series, Buttler proved why.
Of the 132 runs scored by England, nearly half came from the skipper, the likes of Liam Livingstone (0) and Phil Salt (0) not contributing while opener Ben Duckett (4), Jacob Bethell (7) and Harry Brook (17) only picked up 28 runs between them.
England's struggles against spin bowling cost them and as Buttler fell on 68 runs from 44 balls with eight fours and two sixes, the visitors were left stranded as their scoring options with the bat had all suffered short stays at the crease.
With England all out for the measly target of 133, India then cantered to the total in 12.5 overs, cameos from Abhishek Sharma (79) and Sanju Samson (29) the key as only three wickets fell for the hosts.
This was an India side that romped to a win without the likes of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in their ranks.
"That was total destruction," said Sir Alistair Cook on TNT Sports.
"It is a concern how they played the spin. More in the fact it was kind of boom or bust," he added.
"Only Buttler stood still and reacted rather than did too much premeditation.
"He picked the length really well.
"There is something there for the guys to take note. You perhaps don't have to chase it as much as they think they do.
"A good start to the series for him especially with all the talk in regards his form.
"England, let's be honest, need a firing Buttler to compete at the top echelons of the T20 game."
Despite such a huge loss, Buttler is still excited for what this new era can bring and is looking to turn things around in three days time when England face India in the second T20I in Chennai on January 25.
"There was a little bit in the wicket early on and we probably didn't expect that," Buttler told TNT Sports.
"I thought they found a bit of movement early on and if you come through that, it is a good scoring pitch and fast ground here.
"You want to enforce the game you want to play and we weren't quite capable of doing that today.
"We are better for the run out and we are looking forward to the next one.
"Jofra [Archer] looked good, he is a superstar, and looked threatening. Mark Wood bowled fast and was exciting.
"We want to be aggressive, we want to be watchable, and we are up against a team who are ultra-aggressive as well.
"I am really enjoying the environment. I was a big McCullum fan when he was playing so it is great to be working with him in the dressing room now."
All times UK and Ireland
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