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Watch Test cricket in the UK from £12
There's a tantalizing clash of styles in store for cricket fans this week as England and their gung-ho Bazball approach take on India's kings of spin in the first Test of an epic five-match series between the two sides.
Both teams come into this series opener in Hyderabad with strong recent Test records on the line. England chalked up two series wins and two draws in 2023, while India were also unbeaten last year, with three series wins and a draw.
Lancashire's Tom Hartley is set to make his Test debut for the tourists, while Ben Foakes returns as England's wicketkeeper.
The hosts, meanwhile, will be without Virat Kohli, who's set to miss the first two Tests of this series for personal reasons, with Rajat Patidar having the unenviable job of replacing his country's star batsman.
Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the first match of the series, no matter where you are in the world.
England captain Ben Stokes had surgery on a long-standing knee problem in November.
India vs. England: When and where?
India take on England in the first match of this Test series at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad from Thursday, Jan. 25 until Monday, Jan. 29. Play is set to start each day at 9:30 a.m. IST local time in India -- that's 4 a.m. GMT in the UK, 3 p.m. AEDT in Australia, and at 11 p.m. ET or 8 p.m. PT in the US on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
How to watch India vs. England, 1st Test online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view this Test match 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 by encrypting your traffic, and 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. You should 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.
If you're looking for a secure and dependable VPN, check out our Editors' Choice: ExpressVPN. It's fast, works on multiple devices and provides stable streams. It's normally $13 a month, but it currently costs less overall to go for a 12-month subscription, where each month shakes out to $8.32.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Livestream India vs. England in the US
This first Test in the series will be available to watch live on dedicated cricket streaming service Willow TV.
Dedicated cricket streaming service Willow TV is available from a broad range of cable providers, including Spectrum, Dish and Xfinity.
The service is also available via OTT provider Sling TV across a range of devices. There are options to pay just for Willow (pricing starts at $10 a month or $80 for a year's subscription) or add it to your existing Sling plan.
Stream the 1st Test in India for free
The first Test between India and England will be available to watch in the host nation on sport network Sports 18. That means you'll be able to watch for free via its OTT platform JioCinema.
Every ball of this Test series is streaming live and for free on JioCinema in India. The service has dedicated apps for a wide range of mobile devices and platforms, but you'll need an Indian phone number to sign up.
Watch India vs. England in the UK
This series is being shown exclusively live in the UK by Sky and its dedicated Sky Sports Cricket channel. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the final via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the match.
Sky subsidiary Now (formerly Now TV) offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get a day of access for £12, or sign up to a monthly plan from £35 a month right now.
Stream India vs. England in Australia
Pay-TV network Foxtel and its streaming platform Kayo is showing the first Test match of this series Down Under.
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.
Quick tips for streaming India vs. England using a VPN
- With four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- your experience and success when streaming this Test match 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 an address 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 normally recommend Brave.