India’s opening T20I against England at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street was abandoned without a ball being bowled in the second innings after persistent rain made the outfield unfit for play.After winning the toss, India elected to bat first and recovered from a disastrous start to post a competitive 189/7 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to Abhishek Sharma’s explosive half-century and Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy. However, the weather had the last word as continuous rain prevented England from starting their chase of 190.India’s innings got off to a shaky start as Saqib Mahmood struck early to remove Sanju Samson, while Ishan Kishan was run out after a mix-up, leaving the visitors struggling at 6/2.With India under pressure, Abhishek Sharma launched a breathtaking counter-attack. The left-hander tore apart England’s seamers with a fearless display of strokeplay, racing to his fifty in just 20 deliveries. Along the way, he also became the fastest batsman from a full member nation to hit 100 sixes in T20 Internationals.
Partnership for Abhishek and Shreyas
Abhishek and Iyer added 82 runs for the third wicket to regain control of the innings. The opener eventually fell to a staggering 59 off 24 balls, an innings studded with six fours and four sixes, after being trapped lbw by Sam Curran.After Abhishek’s dismissal, captain Shreyas Iyer took charge in the middle overs. Mixing calculated aggression with sensitive stroke rotation, the right-hander compiled a composed 68 off 47 deliveries, including six boundaries and a six. During his innings, Iyer also crossed the 5000 international runs mark, becoming the last Indian batsman to achieve the feat.Although Saqib Mahmood returned to dismiss Iyer to finish with impressive figures of 3/33, India found valuable late runs through Shivam Dube. The all-rounder remained unbeaten on 42 off just 21 balls, hitting three sixes and two fours to chase the visitors to 189/7.
The rain was wrong
England never got a chance to start their reply. Heavy rain arrived shortly after the innings break and continued throughout the evening, with the grounds staff unable to prepare the playing surface before the break. As a result, the match was officially abandoned without a single shot in England’s innings, forcing both teams to settle for no score.Points for the letter: India 189/7 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 68, Abhishek Sharma 59, Shivam Dube 42*; Saqib Mahmood 3/33).
