The first T20I between India and England is currently underway at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This is the first of the five games to be played at this venue. England are back to full-strength in the white-ball series against India. Meanwhile, Eoin Morgan and his men were seen sporting black armbands in the first T20I encounter.
They wear it in memory of former player Joey Benjamin, who recently passed away. Former England and Surrey pacer, Benjamin, died earlier this week at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack.
Benjamin had to wait until he was 27 before breaking into the county game, impressing for Staffordshire and at club level before Warwickshire took him on and gave him his Championship debut in 1988.
Also Read: Twitterati Lash Out At Virat Kohli For Depriving Suryakumar Yadav A T20 Debut
England Restrict India To Below Par Total
Meanwhile, England have restricted India to 124/7 after choosing to field first. Shreyas Iyer scored 67 to help his team get to that score. Pant scored a crucial 21 off 23 balls and was dismissed just when he was starting to look good to get a big score. Apart from the duo, there were hardly any contribution from any other batsmen. Indian skipper Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck.
Jofra Archer gave England the early breakthrough and ended with three in his spell. English bowlers attacked India with raw pace with Archer, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes all bowling together. Adil Rashid accounted for Kohli’s wicket. Jordan Wood and Stokes picked up a wicket each.
India decided to rest Rohit Sharma for the first game. Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul opened for India and both fell cheaply. This triggered Indian fans to target the management for resting Rohit despite him being in form. The television commentators also pointed out the same while adding that both players needed to give themselves a bit more time before playing big shots.
Also Read: Watch – Rishabh Pant At It Again; Plays Ramp Shot To Jofra Archer