The England bowlers managed to restrict the famed India batting lineup to a medicore score as the hosts just managed to get 124 runs in the first T20. Shreyas Iyer (67) finished as the top-scorer for India. India tinkered with their batting, lineup but the experiment failed miserably as the openers fell within the powerplay. KL Rahul looked rusty after a lengthy lay-off, Virat Kohli's poor form continued and Dhawan threw his wicket away in process of trying to score quick runs. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer assesed the conditions pretty well, forged useful stands with both Pant and Pandya, but the finishing never really happened. He did make a 48-ball 67, but none of the other batsmen managed to score at run-a-ball. Earlier, England won the toss and opted to field. In a surprise move, India skipper Virat Kohli announced that Rohit Sharma will be resting in the first few games.
Speaking at the toss, Eoin Morgan said: "We're going to have a bowl. Looks a good wicket with a covering of grass. A little bit of dew later on. Going to be an evenly-poised contest. The opportunity to play in India against a very strong side with the World Cup later this year, we're really excited. The key is to evolve in our game. Five T20Is at this ground, it's going to turn at some stage and we have to be smarter. That's one aspect of our game that we're trying to evolve."Kohli said India would have also bowled first. "Probably would have bowled first as well. Dew is going to be a massive factor in the second half. Got to get into the game with the ball and restrict them to a chaseable score. We were planning to do things like batting first in these conditions where bowling in the dew becomes a factor. It's a good way to prepare for the World Cup. The next few months will be important from a team environment. Rohit is resting for the first couple of games," he said. Earlier in the day, Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) had announced that it has decided to use only 50 per cent capacity of the Narendra Modi Stadium. All the COVID-19 related precautions have been taken and all standard operating procedures (SOPs) are being followed.
