Rain has the final say as the first T20I between India and England at Chester-le-Street is abandoned without a result. Despite persistent showers throughout the day, India managed to complete their full quota of 20 overs. However, England's chase never got underway as the rain refused to relent. 

That's all from us for tonight. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll be back in a couple of days for the second T20I in Manchester. Until then, goodbye!

Still raining in Chester-le-Street. In fact, the showers have intensified, and the covers remain firmly in place. There's currently no movement out in the middle. The cut-off time for a five-over game is 9:00 pm local time (1:30 am IST), so the clock is very much in play.

The start of the second innings has been delayed due to steady rain in Chester-le-Street. As a result, the bowlers' run-ups and the pitch have been covered. It is worth noting that there is an extra half an hour available before the match starts losing overs.

England to chase 190! Half-centuries from captain Shreyas Iyer, Abhishek Sharma and an unbeaten cameo from Shivam Dube guided India to 189/7 against England in the 1st T20I in Chester-le-Street. Iyer (68 off 47) brought up his maiden half-century as India's T20I captain in just 30 balls, anchoring the recovery after an early wobble. Dube finished unbeaten on 42 off 21 balls, slamming two fours and three sixes.

FOUR! Top shot from Dube. Rashid offers a slightly fuller delivery, and Dube leans into it beautifully, threading the gap with precision. The ball races away between deep extra cover and long-off with neither fielder able to cut it off. Can India push past 200?

IND: 179/6 (19)

OUT! Stumped for a duck! Harshit Rana dances down the pitch looking for a big hit, but misses it completely. Buttler does the rest, gathering cleanly to his right and completing an easy stumping. England continue to chip away at India's lower order.

Harshit Rana st Buttler b Rashid 0 (2)

IND: 174/6 (18.4)

WICKET! India lose a review, and Shreyas Iyer has to go. This looked fairly straightforward from the outset. Mahmood fires in a full delivery on the stumps, and Iyer shuffles across looking to hoick it over midwicket. He misses completely and is struck flush on the pads. The umpire raises his finger without hesitation. India opt for the review, hoping for an inside edge, but UltraEdge shows nothing. Ball-tracking returns three reds - pitching in line, impact in line, and crashing into the stumps. OUT! Iyer's impressive innings comes to an end, and India lose a review in the process.

Shreyas Iyer lbw b Mahmood 68 (47)

IND: 165/5 (17.5)

DUBE GOES BIG! Despite the rain intensifying, the action keeps flowing. Rashid pitches it up, and Dube is quick to seize the opportunity, hammering it straight down the ground and into the sightscreen. That's a massive hit!

IND: 155/4 (6.2)

A 30-ball half-century for Shreyas Iyer! His first since becoming captain of India. And what a time to get it. He is putting on a show in Chester-le-Street.

IND: 127/4 (14.2)

OUT! Mahmood does the trick. Tilak tries to force the pace with an audacious scoop, but the lack of pace deceives him completely. He can't middle it, and Dawson makes no mistake at short fine leg. A soft dismissal, and England have another breakthrough.

Tilak Varma c Dawson b Mahmood 13 (13)

IND: 124/4 (13.4)

England strike! Not on the cricket field, but on the football pitch in Atlanta. Harry Kane comes up with the equaliser for Thomas Tuchel's men against DR Congo in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32. With around a quarter of the second half left to play, the Three Lions have made it 1-1 and set up a thrilling finish. Click here to follow the live updates from that game

England burn a review! Tilak misses the reverse sweep and the hosts immediately go upstairs. However, replays show a slight glove on its way through. The on-field decision stands, and England are now one review poorer.

IND: 111/3 (12)

10 overs done: India 99/3! Not a bad position at all after losing three wickets early. Shreyas Iyer is settling in nicely on 34 off 23, and a fluent knock here could be a huge confidence booster with four more games to come in the series.

WICKET! A superb review from England. Curran's back-of-the-hand leg-cutter beats Abhishek and thuds into the pad. The umpire turns down the appeal, but England immediately review. Three reds on ball-tracking - pitched in line, impact in line, hitting leg stump. Abhishek's blistering knock comes to an end!

Abhishek Sharma lbw b Curran 59 (24)

IND: 88/3 (8.2)

Fewest balls to reach 100 sixes in T20I (Full-member nations)

785 - Abhishek Sharma*
789 - Evin Lewis
871 - Finn Allen
931 - Tim David
963 - Colin Munro
1007 - Suryakumar Yadav

A 20-ball fifty for Abhishek! He nudges it to long-on for a single to bring up yet another blazing half-century. This has been a stunning knock from the former world No. 1, leading India's recovery in style.

IND: 63/2 (6.2)

4, 6, 6, 4 - Carnage from Abhishek! He tears into Mahmood and shifts the momentum back India's way. Shreyas Iyer joins the party with a boundary at the end as India finish with a much-needed momentum-changing over after losing wickets in quick succession.

IND: 36/2 (4)

RUN OUT! A terrible mix-up in the middle. Kishan's nightmare continues as he is run out for the second innings in a row. Despite a desperate dive, he is nowhere near the crease. Abhishek was caught ball-watching and left his partner stranded.

Ishan Kishan run out (Brook/Buttler) 0 (2)

IND: 6/2 (1.6)

Taken at backward point! Samson is gone for 1 off 7 balls after a duck in his previous innings. The dot-ball pressure gets the better of him. This was a length delivery outside off, and Samson cuts it straight to backward point, where Banton takes a simple catch.

Sanju Samson c Banton b Mahmood 1 (7)

IND: 6/1 (1.4)

Four runs! Abhishek presents the full face of the bat and lofts this over cover for a boundary. Top shot!

IND: 5/0 (0.5)

Sanju Samson to face the first ball. Luke Wood has the new ball in his hands. He starts with a dot.

IND: 0/0 (0.1)

Big decision from India to bat first on pitch with plenty of grass and dark clouds above. The last time India chose to bat first after winning the toss outside Asia was against South Africa at Johannesburg in November 2024.

Shreyas Iyer: Second series as captain. Very excited. We got a session of practice here, and we have acclimatised. The mood is absolutely fine. Ireland series is history. We know how England have been playing their cricket. The surface has a decent amount of grass, can't predict. We are going with three spinners, Axar being the allrounder and two pacers.

Harry Brook: Happy to bowl. The mood is good. We are looking to start this series against a solid Indian side. Part of cricket to get ready for a new series. Lots of experienced players in the side. Having the likes of Buttler and Salt and Sam Curran to lean on is great.

India have won the toss and opted to bat at the Riverside Ground. No debut for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Harry Brook(c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood

India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy

Looking at the pictures from out in the middle, there is no sign of a cap presentation as the Indian players gather in their pre-match huddle. Vice-captain Tilak Varma was seen delivering an intense motivational speech to the group. It is now fair to assume there won't be a debut for teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi tonight-unless the team management decides to pull off a massive surprise at the toss.

Varun Chakravarthy is back in the Indian squad after recovering from a hairline toe fracture. The spinner missed last week's assignments against Ireland in Belfast due to the injury.

Less than a year after making his India comeback, Ishan Kishan has soared to the top of the ICC T20I batting rankings. Talk about turning a corner in style!

Congratulations to Ishan Kishan on topping the charts in the ICC Men's T20I Batting Rankings following his massive impact in #TeamIndia's triumph at the #T20WorldCup 2026 @ishankishan51 pic.twitter.com/qQrGnJNdMF

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 1, 2026

England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Harry Brook(c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been at the centre of attention in the lead-up to the series, following his no-show in the Ireland rubber. Several experts, including Sunil Gavaskar, have urged the management to hand the prodigy his debut in the very first game of this five-match series. Whether the Indian team management decides to blood him under these heavy Chester-le-Street skies remains to be seen.

It is currently overcast in Chester-le-Street with just under an hour to go until the toss. India hold the upper hand in the overall head-to-head record with an 18-12 advantage, including a dominant run of six wins in their last seven meetings. The cloud cover is bound to give the pacers plenty to think about-let's just hope the weather gods play ball so we can get a complete game of cricket tonight.

Hello and welcome to NDTV Sports' live coverage of the 1st T20I between England and India. We are broadcasting live from the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, where all eyes are on whether 15-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will make his highly anticipated international debut tonight.