England kick off their first white-ball series against India in three years today in Kolkata, with head coach Brendon McCullum looking to mould his side ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy. 

The fallout from England’s disappointing performance at last year’s T20 World Cup saw McCullum take charge of the limited-overs squad, having already revitalized the Test team with his aggressive approach. 

India, meanwhile, come into this series looking to put their recent defeat in the Border-Gavaskar trophy to Australia behind them, with Suryakumar Yadav’s team aiming to maintain their dominance of cricket’s shortest format.

Australia take on India in the 1st T20 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Play is set to start each day at 7 p.m. IST local time in India, which makes it a 1:30 p.m. GMT start in the UK. 

The time difference in the US and Canada means this first T20 encounter between the two sides begins at 8:30 a.m. ET and 5:30 a.m. PT, with play getting underway for viewers in Australia at 12:30 a.m. AEDT in the early hours of Thursday morning. 

Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to watch the series, no matter where you are in the world.

How to watch India vs. England 1st T20 in the US and Canada without cable 

This T20 series is available to watch live on cricket streaming service Willow TV.

Willow TV, a dedicated cricket streaming service, is available with a broad range of cable providers, including Spectrum, Dish and Xfinity. The service is also available via OTT provider Sling TV via its Desi Binge Plus or Dakshin Flex plans. Willow TV is also an add-on for OTT provider Fubo, with plans starting at $87 per month, which covers the base Fubo subscription plus another $7 for the add-on package that includes Willow TV.

How to watch online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view this Test series locally, you may need a different way to watch the action — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic. It’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Australia, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. Be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

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ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That’s the equivalent of $6.67 a month.

Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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Watch India vs. England 1st T20 in the UK

This T20 series is being shown live in the UK by TNT Sports. 

You can access TNT Sports via Sky Q as a TV package, as well as the option of streaming online. It costs £31 either way and comes in a package that includes the Discovery Plus library of documentary content.

Stream the India vs. England 1st T20 in Australia for free

This T20 series can be watched Down Under on Fox Sports via Foxtel. If you’re not a Fox subscriber, your best option is to sign up for the streaming service Kayo Sports. 

A Kayo Sports subscription starts at AU$25 a month and lets you stream on one screen, while its Premium tier costs AU$35 a month for simultaneous viewing on up to three devices.

The service gives you access to a wide range of sports, including F1, NRL, NFL, NHL and MLB, and there are no lock-in contracts. 

Better still, if you’re a new customer, you can take advantage of a one-week Kayo Sports free trial.

Stream India vs. England 1st T20 in India 

Cricket fans in India can watch this Test series via Star Sports. The cheapest way to watch is via the Disney Plus Hotstar app, but those looking to catch all the action on a device with a larger display will need to sign up for one of its more expensive tier subscriptions.

Disney Plus Hotstar starts at 499 rupees for its Mobile plan, going up to 899 rupees for its Super tier, and 1,499 rupees for the service’s all-access Premium content plan.

Quick tips for streaming India vs. England 1st T20 using a VPN

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming this Test series series live may vary.
• If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
• If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone), so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
• All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location. 
• And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We recommend Brave.