India Women defeated England Women by 97 runs in the opening T20I of the five-match series at Trent Bridge. The visitors delivered a genuinely superb all-round performance, handing the hosts a crushing defeat; their largest margin of defeat in T20Is (by runs).
One key element was the difference in performance between the two teams’ spinners. England’s bowlers conceded far too many runs while taking only one wicket. The Indians, on the other hand, spun a web around the adversary, preventing them from escaping.
England’s spinners conceded 105 runs in eight overs, taking only one wicket. Sophie Ecclestone of Smriti Mandhana took the only wicket in the penultimate over of the innings after scoring her first T20I tonne (112 off 62) and wreaking havoc in the innings in which India batted first.
India’s spin-bowling outfit took the lead in defending the target and was merciless. Their accurate lines and lengths proved too much for the home side, who lost eight wickets in 10.5 overs. It wasn’t like they could score many runs off them. They only scored 72 runs.
Shree Charani, a T20I debutant, took four of the eight wickets and finished with an impressive 4/12 in 3.5 overs.
Earlier in the game, Smriti’s excellence with the bat helped India reach 210/5 after 20 overs. Her daring century had 15 fours and three sixes. Harleen Deol (43 off 23) also contributed significantly to the score.
The two sides will now arrive at the County Ground in Bristol for the second T20 fixture of the tour. That particular game will be a night match, scheduled to commence at 11 pm (IST) on Tuesday, July 1. The Indians will obviously look to build on their splendid performance and aim on securing a 2-0 lead.
India
