Rain washes out the first T20I after Abhishek and Iyer fire India to 189
Abhishek Sharma’s 59 off 24 and skipper Shreyas Iyer’s 68 hauled India to a strong 189 for 7, only for rain at Chester-le-Street to wipe out England’s reply.
Jul 2, 2026
India will feel they left a winning total stranded in the pavilion. They rattled up 189 for 7 in the opening T20I against England at Chester-le-Street, only for the rain that had circled the Riverside Ground all evening to close in for good before the hosts could begin their reply. Play was called off at 8.15pm local time, three quarters of an hour inside the official cut-off, and a no-result was the only fair verdict.
It was a flat end to a night that had promised plenty, because for long stretches India batted like a side desperate to bury the memory of their shock series loss in Ireland.
Abhishek and Iyer rebuild from the rubble
India needed the recovery, because the innings began in a heap. Saqib Mahmood, back in an England shirt for the first time in more than a year, struck in the second over to remove Sanju Samson, brilliantly caught by Tom Banton at backward point. Samson’s last three T20I scores now read 5, 0 and 1. When Ishan Kishan was run out for the second innings running, India were 6 for 2 and reeling.
Abhishek Sharma had other ideas. The left-hander tore into anything short or full, racing to 59 from just 24 balls in a blur of clean striking that briefly made the collapse look like a distant memory. Shreyas Iyer, leading the side on this tour, supplied the ballast with a composed 68 off 47, a knock built on timing rather than brute force. Shivam Dube gave the innings its late shove, finishing unbeaten on 42 from 21 to carry India past 180.
Mahmood the pick before the weather won
Mahmood was comfortably England’s most threatening bowler, returning 3 for 33 and reminding the selectors what he offers when fully fit. Sam Curran chipped in with 1 for 25. England would have fancied the chase, but they never got the chance to find out.
Rain had been threatening since the interval, and once it set in there was no realistic route to a reduced game. The umpires waited as long as they sensibly could before confirming the abandonment, with England still to walk out and bat a single ball.
All to play for at Old Trafford
The washout leaves the five-match series without a result on the board, which arguably suits India more than England given the way the tourists had gone about their innings. The teams reconvene at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester on July 4, with the second T20I set for a 7pm IST start.
India will take plenty from Abhishek’s fireworks and Iyer’s calm, and rather less from another cheap dismissal for Samson and a second run-out in as many innings for Kishan. Those are the loose threads a captain wants tied off quickly on a tour that only gets busier from here.