India Women began their three-match one-day international series on a positive start, defeating England Women by four wickets in the first game. They ended up winning with 10 deliveries to spare.
Deepti Sharma (62* off 64) stayed strong till the end, aided by several contributions from the middle order hitters. The victory, however, meant much more: it was the second-highest target chased by the Women in Blue in cricket history.
Highest targets chased down by India Women in ODIs (as of July 17, 2025):
| Opposition | Venue | Year | Target |
| AUS-W | Mackay | 2021 | 265 |
| ENG-W | Southampton | 2025 | 259 |
| NZ-W | Queenstown | 2022 | 252 |
| SA-W | Vadodara | 2019 | 248 |
| SA-W | Colombo (PSS) | 2017 | 245 |
Since hosting West Indies in December, India have registered 11 wins from their 12 ODI outings. This victory has provided a solid opportunity for the team to take an unassailable lead going into the third and final match of the white-ball series.
Coming to the match, England were under the pump after losing their openers for low scores before Emma Lamb (39 off 50) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (41 off 52) steadied the ship. However, they both were dismissed before the team’s score touched the 100-run mark.
A 106-run fifth-wicket stand between Sophia Dunkley (83 off 92) and Alice Davidson-Richards (53 off 73) took England to 259/6 in their 50 overs. Sneh Rana (2/31 in 10 overs) was the pick of the bowlers.
Coming to the chase, Smriti Mandhana (28 off 24) looked quite comfortable at the crease during her short stay before being dismissed. Pratika Rawal (36 off 51) and Harleen Deol (27 off 44) were also dismissed with a span of a few overs before Deepti and Jemimah Rodrigues (48 off 54) combined to guide the innings forward.
Although the latter could not stay till the end, Deepti ensured there were no hiccups and guided her team through to victory alongside Amanjot Kaur (20* off 14) at the other end. Sophie Ecclestone (1/34 in 10 overs) was the most economical bowler from the English squad.
India
