India will be looking to bounce back from their recent 2-0 T20I series loss in Ireland as Shreyas Iyer and co take on England in the 1st of a 5-match series. Get the pitch report and weather forecast right here
Published: July 1, 2026, 4:50 PM IST
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India’s Arshdeep Singh celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Ireland’s Harry Tector during the first T20I match between India and Ireland at Stormont Cricket Ground in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo: IANS/X/@BCCI)
After enduring a shock and embarrassing 2-0 series defeat in Ireland for the very first time in their history, team India will be looking to make amends in the 2nd leg of their full-fledged white-ball tour of Europe, starting with a 5-match T20I series in England.
The 1st T20I takes place later today, from 10:00PM (IST) onwards at the Riverside Ground in Chester-Le-Street. This will be Shreyas Iyer’s second series in charge as the Indian captain. His debut was absolutely forgettable and one that him and side will look to forget in the upcoming 5 T20Is in England.
Although it won’t be easy for them to turn it around, especially against such a strong side but the Indians must not forget that they are the back-to-back reigning World T20 champions and the only team to ever do so in the history of the shortest format.
That energy and belief was somehow missing in the side which suffered two unexpected losses, by 34 and 1 run respectively, against Ireland. The 2-0 loss broke India’s 16-series undefeated streak against the Irish unit which deserves all the credits for playing a better level of cricket on a tricky surface.
Many have blamed the Indian batters for not being able to adapt as per the Irish surface which consisted of variable bounce and good seam movement, something that was not on offer during the Indian Premier League. The bowling department, too, had a tough time but they were still somehow the team’s strongest link with Prince Yadav, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh putting up decent performances.
The likes of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan struggled to make an impact in the series with Abhishek – the only one to score a half-century from the top-order. Skipper Shreyas Iyer cannot be entirely blamed as it was his first international T20I since December 2023 but if India wants to prove a point and beat England in this series, then he will have to fire as well.
A key reason behind India’s batting failure, as described by assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, was the reliance on their ultra-attacking mode which refrained them from adjusting to those conditions.
IND Vs ENG, 1st T20I: Riverside Ground Pitch Report
The pitch at the Riverside Ground offers an even contest where batting is not always an easy task. This season’s T20 Blast matches saw a high score of just 151 and a low of 93 all out. With recent results split 2-2 between teams batting first and chasing, the surface rewards disciplined cricket.
IND Vs ENG, 1st T20I: Chester-Le-Street Weather Forecast
The weather forecast for tonight indicates a high risk of rain continuing throughout the evening. Damp conditions are highly likely to disrupt play, meaning we could see a delayed start or a significantly curtailed game. Captains must factor the persistent threat of rain into their strategy at the toss.
IND Vs ENG, 1st T20I: Squads
India: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Washington Sundar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi.
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (WK), Harry Brook (C), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood, Jordan Cox, James Coles, Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker.
