India’s decision to bat first in overcast conditions in Chester-le-Street — with a bit of grass on the Riverside Ground pitch — certainly raised a few eyebrows. However, despite a wobbly start, India managed to post a competitive total of 189/7 in the opening T20I against England on Wednesday.
The match was finally called off after rain came pelting down at the stroke of the innings break.
Shreyas Iyer, beginning his India captaincy with a forgettable 0-2 series loss to Ireland, top-scored with 68 off 47 balls. A bigger credit although has to go to Abhishek Sharma for a 24-ball 59 at the top and Shivam Dube (42 not out off 21 balls), who remained till the end to push the total past 180.
Not only was India’s decision to bat first surprising but also their call to go in with only two specialist quicks in Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, with all-rounder Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi forming the spin department. On a few occasions, though, the ball did grip a little on the surface.
The start was far from outstanding for India as they slipped to 6/2 in two overs. Sanju Samson’s difficult times continued as after a couple of noughts, he managed just a single, giving a simple catch to backward point off Saqib Mahmood (3/33). On the last ball of the second over, Ishan Kishan was also run out following a misunderstanding with Abhishek.
Fortunately for India, Abhishek ensured he didn’t botch it up. This English pace attack wasn’t at all intimidating, yet one has to laud the left-hander for grabbing the bull by the horns and backing the game he plays best.
India lost Abhishek quite against the run of play when Sam Curran trapped him LBW, but skipper Shreyas played the anchor role and held his nerves even when Tilak Varma perished trying to force the issue.
Shreyas finished his innings with six fours and a six.