The highly-anticipated England-India five-match T20I series got underway at Chester-le-Street on July 1. Despite the threat of rain leading up to the contest, the series opener started on time, with India winning the toss and electing to bat first.
However, light to steady rain alternated across much of the Indian innings. But the umpires refused to come off, resulting in no stoppages and all 20 overs being bowled on time.
Yet, the unrelenting rain continued as the first innings closed and hasn’t stopped since, leading to a delayed start to the English run-chase. Team India finished with a formidable 189/7 in their 20 overs, setting up a potentially thrilling run-chase of 190 for the hosts.
However, the steady rain has ensured that overs will be lost if and when players come out to play. In the case of only the minimum five-over affair taking place, England will have to score 64 runs to secure victory.
Unfortunately, there is less than an hour left for a five-over contest, making it a race against time to avoid abandonment.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer led from the front in the first innings of the India-England 1st T20I
Team India skipper Shreyas Iyer bounced back from twin failures in his first two games as India’s T20I captain against Ireland in the ongoing first T20I against England. The Men in Blue struggled early, losing two wickets with only six runs on the board when Iyer walked out to bat.
However, he began India’s turnaround with the free-flowing Abhishek Sharma, who scored a 24-ball 59. The duo added 82 runs for the third wicket to help India reach 88/3 in the ninth over.
Iyer continued his stellar knock even after Abhishek fell, scoring 68 off 47 deliveries, to anchor India’s innings. He smashed six boundaries and a maximum in his well-paced knock, ensuring the side crossed the 180-run mark.
Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
