India Women crush England by 38 runs to take 1- 0 series lead

CHELMSFORD (UK): India Women emphatically began their England tour with a clinical victory over the hosts in the first T20I at Chelmsford by 38 runs. A complete team performance powered by brilliant batting, disciplined bowling, and sharp fielding helped India secure a convincing win and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

After being asked to bat first, India suffered an early blow when opener Smriti Mandhana departed cheaply. However, the innings quickly gained momentum as Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues added vital runs.

Yastika played a fluent knock of 54 runs from 40 deliveries, smashing 9 fours and a six at a strike rate above 130. Rodrigues then anchored the innings superbly with a magnificent 69 off 40 balls, including 10 boundaries and a six. A late cameo from Deepti Sharma in the death overs helped India finish strongly on 188/7 in their 20 overs.

Yastika Bhatia, making her comeback to India’s XI, showed no sign that this was her first international match since October 2024 https://t.co/3vXcVqrnmn pic.twitter.com/tJcfWHMIHx

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 29, 2026

England’s bowling effort was led by Lauren Bell, who claimed 3 wickets for 34 runs in her four-over spell. Tilly Corteen-Coleman also impressed with key breakthroughs and controlled bowling during the middle overs. Despite pulling things back slightly in the final overs, England were left chasing a challenging target of 188.

In response, India’s Kranti Gaud struck early, removing Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey, before Amy Jones took charge of the chase. Jones played a fighting innings of 67 from 48 balls, striking 7 fours to keep England in contention. Heather Knight chipped in with valuable runs, scoring 21.

However, Nandni Sharma delivered a match-winning spell, finishing with remarkable figures of 3 wickets for 23 runs. She removed key middle-order batters at crucial moments and triggered a collapse that changed the course of the match.

Deepti Sharma added an important wicket while pacer Kranti Gaud contributed with disciplined bowling in the death overs. Apart from Jones, the rest of the England batters failed to score runs, as they fell short by 38 runs in the end. (ANI)