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India won the toss and opted to bat first in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, on Wednesday.
After winning the toss, India captain Shreyas Iyer said the team has moved on from the Ireland series that they lost 2-0 and was excited for the challenge against England. He added that India had acclimatised well, expected to play with high intent despite uncertain pitch conditions, and had opted for three spinners. "We'll bat first. It's a great opportunity for us. My second series as a captain, pretty much excited. Got what we wanted, had a session of practice to acclimatise yesterday. It's fine (the mood in the dressing room). Ireland series is history. Pretty decent amount of grass on the wicket. Can't predict how it's going to play, but definitely the intent is going to be high. Going with three spinners," Iyer said during the toss presentation. England captain Harry Brook, on the other hand, said he would have preferred to bowl anyway and was happy with the toss outcome. He praised the positive mood in the camp, looked forward to facing a strong Indian side, and said the experience of senior players like Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, and Sam Curran would be invaluable during the series. "Would've had a bowl, happy with that result. Looks like a good wicket. The mood's really good. We're really looking forward to this series starting against a very strong Indian side, and, it's good to be back with the lads. There's a lot of experienced players, and that's quite nice for me to be able to lean on them in the middle of the game as well. And having the likes of Jos Buttler and Phil Salt, Sam Curran out in the middle as well to lean on when I need some help, is really helpful," Brook said. India and England 1st T20I playing 11s: India: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (W), Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (W), Harry Brook (C), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood. (ANI)
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