Chester-le-Street, July 2 (IANS) Thanks to half‑centuries from skipper Shreyas Iyer and Abhishek Sharma, along with a late surge from Shivam Dube, India overcame slight drizzle and a gloomy evening to post 189/7 in 20 overs in the opening T20I against England at the Riverside Ground on Wednesday.

On a not-so-easy pitch, Iyer hit his first fifty as India’s T20I captain – his knock of 68 came off 47 balls, laced with six fours and a six. Abhishek, meanwhile, hit 59 off 24 balls studded with six fours and four sixes. Dube applied the finishing touches by hitting 42 not out off just 21 balls, including two boundaries and three sixes.

Sent in to bat, India slipped to 6/2 inside two overs. Sanju Samson fell cheaply again, caught at backward point off Saqib Mahmood, before Ishan Kishan was run out after a mix‑up with Abhishek for a duck.

Abhishek then launched a blistering counterattack, racing to a 20‑ball fifty – the fastest by an Indian batter in England – with a flurry of pulls and lofted drives, before Sam Curran’s slower ball trapped him lbw in the eighth over, which also ended his 82-run stand with Shreyas.

But by then, Abhishek had become the fastest batter to smash 100 sixes in T20Is (in 785 deliveries) and surpassed West Indies’ batter Evin Lewis, who had smashed hundred sixes in 789 deliveries in his career. Shreyas then combined with Tilak Varma for a 36‑run stand, while striking cleanly against pace and spin.

Varma’s dismissal, caught off a low full toss on Mahmood’s bowling, brought Dube to the crease. Iyer reached his ninth T20I half‑century from 38 balls, his slowest in the format, but accelerated with a six over extra cover and inventive strokes against Luke Wood and Mahmood, who later trapped him lbw.

Dube then took charge, clearing mid‑wicket and square leg with powerful hitting, and finished unconquered. England’s spinners Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson struggled for control in the drizzle, while Mahmood impressed with three wickets.

Curran accounted for Abhishek and ran out Axar Patel off the final ball as India closed on 189, which is above par at the venue. England may have a delayed start to the innings due to steady rain, after India blasted 54 runs in the last five overs.

Brief scores:

India 189/7 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 68, Abhishek Sharma 59; Saqib Mahmood 3-33, Sam Curran 1-25) against England

–IANS

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