Abhishek Sharma breaks KL Rahul’s T20I record in England to become the fastest ever…

India’s Abhishek Sharma celebrates his half-century (ANI Photo) India produced a much better batting performance against England in the first T20I at Chester-le-Street, but persistent rain forced the game to be abandoned before the hosts could chase down 190. The visitors posted a competitive 189/7 in 20 overs, largely thanks to the explosive knocks of Abhishek Sharma and skipper Shreyas Iyer, before heavy rain ended proceedings. India’s innings got off to a disastrous start after opting to bat. Sanju Samson was dismissed for just one, while Ishan Kishan suffered his second successive dismissal in T20Is after a mix-up with opening partner Abhishek Sharma, leaving India struggling at 6/2. However, Abhishek quickly changed the tempo with an aggressive counter-attack alongside Shreyas.

Abhishek Sharma creates a record

Abhishek Sharma smashed a breathtaking 59 off just 24 balls, including six fours and four sixes, to record the fastest T20I fifty by an Indian batsman in England. The left-hander reached the milestone in just 20 balls, surpassing KL Rahul’s previous record of a 27-ball half-century against England in Manchester in 2018.Abhishek and Shreyas put together an 82-run partnership in just over seven overs to revive the Indian innings. Abhishek dominated England’s pace, with Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood in particular helping India race to 61/2 in the overs before eventually succumbing to Sam Curran.

Shreyas Iyer returns to form

After initially playing a supporting role, Shreyas took control of the innings and scored a composed 68 off 47 deliveries. The India captain registered his ninth T20I fifty and first as captain as he found much-needed form after a disappointing run against Ireland. His innings featured six boundaries and a six before he was trapped lbw by Saqib Mahmood.Shivam Dube then finished with an unbeaten 42 off just 21 balls, helping India add 54 runs in the last five overs to take their total to 189/7. Mahmood was an outstanding English bowler with figures of 3/33.However, the rain that started towards the end of India’s innings intensified during the break and with less than 40 minutes remaining in the cut-off for the five-over chase, the match was called off by the umpires. The teams will now head to Manchester for the second T20I on July 4.