India Women crushed England Women by 97 runs in the first T20I of the five-match series. India got off to a perfect start in the T20I series against England. Stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana smashed her first T20I hundred and powered India to a big 97-run win. Regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur missed the match after suffering a head injury during the warm-up game. Mandhana hit 112 runs off just 62 balls. Her classy innings included three sixes and 15 boundaries. She reached her century in only 51 balls.
India Posts Mammoth Total
England Women won the toss and chose to bowl first. Mandhana partnered with Shafali Verma at the top. Though Shafali was quiet, she added 20 runs in a 77-run opening stand. Harleen Deol joined next and played a quickfire knock of 43 off 23 balls.
Together, the pair pushed India to 210 for 5—India’s second-highest total in T20Is. Mandhana finally fell in the last over to Sophie Ecclestone, but not before giving India a massive total.
Ecclestone’s Rough Return, Bell Strikes
Sophie Ecclestone returned to England’s lineup after a break but couldn’t make much impact. Mandhana hit her for two sixes in one over. Ecclestone gave away 43 runs in her three overs and got only one wicket—Mandhana.
Lauren Bell was England’s best bowler. She took 3 for 27 and dismissed Harleen, Richa Ghosh, and Jemimah Rodrigues. “Bell bowled soundly at the death,” observers noted.
Indian Spinners Dominate the Chase
England’s chase started poorly. Richa Ghosh pulled off a brilliant catch to dismiss Sophia Dunkley. Amanjot Kaur got the first breakthrough. Deepti Sharma then bowled Danni Wyatt-Hodge with her very first ball.
Soon, Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones also departed. Radha Yadav and Ghosh combined to dismiss Jones. England crumbled to 62 for 4 during the powerplay.
Sciver-Brunt Fights Alone
Nat Sciver-Brunt fought back with a powerful 66 off 32 balls. But she received no support. Alice Capsey gave a simple catch to Arundhati Reddy. Em Arlott hit a six but soon got out to Mandhana.
Sciver-Brunt reached her half-century with a four off Deepti. However, she edged one to the keeper and was dismissed by debutant spinner N Shree Charani.