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Chester-le-Street, Durham: Rain spoils the opening game of the five match T20I series between England and India on July 1 at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street. Blitzes from Abhishek Sharma and Shivam Dube, along with a captain’s knock of 68 from Shreyas Iyer got India to 189/7, before the rain gods had enough and the game was declared abandoned.
Shreyas Iyer put India in to bat first, observing the dry outfield in the English north-east. The wait for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s international debut continues much to the dismay of the Durham crowd. Sanju Samson got his first run in this English/Irish tour, but nothing more, as he squared it to a diving Tom Banton at gully in the second over of the innings, bowled by Saqib Mahmood. Ishan Kishan would be stuck in the middle just later in the over, and Jos Buttler destroyed the stumps to run him out, bringing India to 6/2.
Another horror performance was looking on the cards, but Abhishek Sharma was determined to breathe some life into the innings. Sharma went berserk against the English pacers in the powerplay, as Iyer watched on from the non-striker end. The left hander completed his half-century in just deliveries, but Sam Curran ended his onslaught on 59, with a slower one for an LBW dismissal.
Iyer and Tilak Varma hit a rut in the middle overs, with prospects of a 200 plus total diminishing. Varma, desperate to get something, played a scoop straight to the hands of Liam Dawson at short fine leg, giving Mahmood his second.
Iyer got to his half-century in 38 balls, a much-needed innings for the skipper to prove his place, but taxing as India’s run rate was hit. Post fifty, Iyer turned to the next gear, but to no avail as his innings ended on 68, courtesy of another Mahmood LBW. Shivam Dube made a late charge in an effort to boost that run rate in the death overs. 40 runs in the final four overs, and an unbeaten 42 from 21 from Dube brought India to a more respectable 189/7.
Unfortunately, a steady drizzle that went on during the first innings, turned to a proper pour by the end of it and the game was halted in Durham, leading to the umpires declaring a washout around 70 minutes later.
India play their 2nd T20I against England on Saturday, July 4 @ Old Trafford, Manchester, 2:30 p.m. BST (9:30 a.m. EST; 7:00 p.m. IST).
