Meanwhile down under, Derbyshire seamer Pat Brown took a hat-trick as England Lions enjoyed a dominant first day against a Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane.

Brown, who won four T20 caps for his country in 2019, banked outstanding figures of five for 21 in his eight overs as the hosts were dismissed for 214.

Brown had already removed Nivethan Radhakrishnan when he took three in three – Henry Hunt edging to slip, Jack Clayton bowled offering no stroke and Hugo Burdon nicking through to wicketkeeper James Rew.

The 26-year-old, whose career progress was stalled by a series of injuries, then completed his five-for with the wicket of top-scorer Ryan Hicks for 64.

Sam Cook took two to continue his impressive trip, with England’s Test spinner Shoaib Bashir chipping in one for 62.

Elsewhere, there was an encouraging return to action for Josh Tongue, who has been out for 18 months with pectoral and hamstring problems. He bowled nine wicketless overs but is ahead of schedule, having targeted the unofficial Test against Australia A at the end of the month for his comeback.

The Lions finished the day on 53 for one, Durham’s Ben McKinney making a lively 32 before departing, with Bashir joining opener Alex Davies as a nightwatcher.

England named their XI on match eve, with captain Jos Buttler again relinquishing the gloves and sliding down to number three. Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton join Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in a pace-packed seam attack with Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell supporting Adil Rashid as spin options.

In the absence of a number of their Test stars, India will be led by Suryakumar Yadav. They are boosted by the return of Mohammed Shami, who has looked quick while building up his fitness domestically, while vice-captain Axar Patel has hinted that the batting order will be flexible with significant versatility in the squad.

When is India vs England?

The first T20I between India and England is due to begin at 1.30pm GMT on Wednesday 22 January at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the action live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage on the channel from 1pm GMT. Subscribers can stream via discovery+.

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of today’s T20 match between England and India.

England face the world champions in Kolkata in the first of the five-match series, in what marks Brendon McCullum’s first match in charge of the white-ball side.

We’ll have all the latest build-up and updates here.