India beat England by 8 wkts in 1st T20

MANCHESTER, July 04 (AP): Lokesh Rahul smashed 101 off 54 balls as India brought England back down to earth with an eight-wicket victory in the first of three Twenty20 cricket internationals on Tuesday.

Put into bat by India at Old Trafford, England was unable to cope with the left-arm wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav, who took 5-24. Only Jos Buttler with 69 off 46 balls seriously troubled the tourists as England finished on 159-8.

It wasn't enough as India reached 163-2 in 18.2 overs with Rahul and captain Virat Kohli (20) at the crease.

England swept Australia 5-0 in the recent ODI series and also won their one-off Twenty20 by 28 runs with Buttler smashing a record 22-ball 50 for the national team.

But India, as expected, proved far stronger opposition for England. The hosts had started well with 53-1 on the board after the six-over powerplay.