Ind vs Eng, 1st T20I: Ton-up Rahul propels India home

K.L. Rahul scored a brilliant hundred as India beat England by eight wickets in the first T20I.

Who shall draw first blood in the opening match?

 

Playing XI:

India : Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Suresh Raina, Lokesh Rahul, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.

England : Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett.

TOSS: India opts to bowl.

Following an easy 2-0 drubbing of Ireland in the just concluded two-match T20I series in Dublin, Team India is on a big mission as it faces off against the mighty English side, which too has been in a phenomenal form of late.

England is coming off an exciting 5-0 series win over Australia in the just-concluded ODI series, and it also beat the visitor in a one-off T20I.

Therefore, with both the teams being in consistent form, it would be a tough call to predict the winner for tonight's match. However, with the match being held in the English backyard, it certainly holds a slender advantage over the visitor.

READ: New battle in Old Blighty: Upbeat India gears up for tough English test

Squads

England : Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Alex Hales, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Dawid Malan, Sam Curran, Jake Ball.

India : Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), M.S. Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Siddarth Kaul, Deepak Chahar.