<p> Chester-le-Street (UK), Jul 1 (PTI): Abhishek Sharma’s dynamic 59 and skipper Shreyas Iyer’s composed 68 helped India gain a slice of positivity despite their first T20I against England getting abandoned because of incessant rains here on Wednesday.</p><p>Their fifties helped India post a competitive 189 for seven, a noticeable change in their batting fortunes after churning out two underwhelming efforts against Ireland in the recent 0-2 series defeat.</p><p>England’s chase of 190 remained a non-starter after the heavens opened up during the innings break.</p><p>The second contest of the five-match series will be played at Manchester on July 4.</p><p>But the beginning of the tourists' innings was anything but rosy after they elected to bat.</p><p>The T20I world champions lost Sanju Samson, who drove Saqib Mahmood (3/33) to Tom Banton at point, and Ishan Kishan with just six runs on the board.</p><p>Kishan was run out after a mix-up with Abhishek, a mirror image of his dismissal in the second T20I against Ireland at Belfast recently.</p><p>At that time, the Indian camp might have briefly revisited their recent batting travails against Ireland in a 0-2 series defeat.</p><p>But those fleeting worries were soon eased once Abhishek slipped into his groove, and a bedlam ensued.</p><p>Pacers Luke Wood and Mahmood were taken apart spectacularly. Mahmood were carted around for 4, 6, 6 and Shreyas also found a four as India eked 21 runs off the fourth over.</p><p>Mahmood tried to unsettle Abhishek with a couple of short-pitched balls, but the left-hander was equal to the task while bringing out two well-timed pulls.</p><p>The timing was a big part of the third wicket alliance that produced 82 runs in a little over seven overs, and it was evident in the way Abhishek handled Wood.</p><p>The 25-year-old smashed England quick for a hat-trick of fours as India piled up an impressive 61 for two in the powerplay.</p><p>Abhishek did not take his feet off the pedal even after the powerplay, and fetched his fifty off just 20 balls.</p><p>But he did not last long as Sam Curran trapped him in front of the wicket as the batter remained stranded on the back-foot.</p><p> Shreyas regains form ================ However, Shreyas, till then supporting his younger partner, took over the job of leading India's innings, and notched up his ninth T20I fifty, first as captain.</p><p>The Mumbai man was more keen to pick up gaps and stay deep into the innings, leaving the big hits to others.</p><p>But he was no slouch either, evidenced by a ferocious pull off leg-spinner Adil Rashid for a four, and later a mighty loft over extra cover off Wood for a six.</p><p>The right-hander reached his fifty in 38 balls, and it might have settled a lot of nerves inside him, particularly after two modest outings against Ireland.</p><p>But Shreyas too fell soon after his fifty, falling leg before to Mahmood.</p><p>India were 165 then and in need of a few more runs.</p><p>Shivam Dube (42 not out, 21b) played a nice little cameo, helping India milk 54 runs off the final five overs after a middle-order dawdle saw the visitors struggling for boundaries between eighth and 14th over.</p><p>Dube's knock also took India close to the 190-run mark, and it could have challenged England massively under the gloomy Durham skies.</p><p>However, the constant downpour robbed the enthusiastic fans of a few thrilling moments in the second innings as umpires decided to call off the game with nearly 40 minutes left for the start of a five-over game. PTI UNG SSC UNG DDV</p><p><i>(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)</i></p>
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