England vs India, 1st T20I: Match abandoned due to rain in Durham. India (189/7 in 20 overs). Shreyas (68), Abhishek (59).

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Despite impressive innings from Abhishek Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, the opening T20 match between India and England at the Riverside Ground in Durham on Wednesday was abandoned without a single ball being bowled in England’s chase as rain took the final call.

The washout also means Shreyas Iyer is still looking for his first win as India’s T20I captain. Having started his tenure with a 0-2 series defeat to Lorcan Tucker’s Ireland, the captain would have hoped to start the England series with a win before the weather intervened.

When invited to bat, India made a competitive score of 189 runs for 7 wickets, in which Abhishek scored 59 runs in 24 balls and Iyer played an inning of 68 runs. Shivam Dubey’s late cameo provided the finishing touches, while Saqib Mahmood was England’s standout bowler, taking three wickets.

Abhishek, Iyer Power India

Abhishek continued his fine form with a breathtaking attack, changing gears brilliantly in the powerplay. The left-handed batsman attacked Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over and turned the momentum of the match firmly in India’s favor by hitting two sky-high sixes and a four in the 21-run over.

During his explosive innings he also became Fastest batsman to reach 100 sixes in T20 InternationalBroke the record of West Indies opener Evin Lewis.

Meanwhile, Iyer played a captain’s innings, cleverly rotating the strike before accelerating in the middle overs to keep the England bowlers under constant pressure.

Dubey then provided the finishing touch with some clean hitting in the death overs, however Mahmood and the experienced Adil Rashid pulled things back with disciplined spells and prevented India from crossing the 200-run mark.

rain is the last word

England never got a chance to chase the target as continuous rain continued in Durham. The umpires waited until the local cut-off time of 9 pm for a possible five-over contest, with England’s revised DLS target set at 64. The target will be 74 in six overs, 85 in seven overs and 94 in eight overs.

However, the weather showed no signs of relenting and the players eventually came out to shake hands as the match was officially abandoned.

England were also hurt when Phil Salt injured his shoulder while fielding, although the hosts later confirmed it was an external blow and the opening batsman was fit to bat.

With an unfavorable start to the series, both teams will now turn their attention to the second T20I at Old Trafford, Manchester on July 4, with four matches still left to determine the winner.

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