ENG-W vs IND-W: 1st T20I Review – England Women make a winning start
England women registered an emphatic win over India women in the first T20I of the three-match series. Having already won the ODI series, the home side continued their brilliant form in the shortest format as well. They defeated India by 18 runs with the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method coming into play due to rain interruption in the second innings.
It’s all over in the first T20I.@englandcricket take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.#ENGvIND | https://t.co/QhHiQJHVcJ pic.twitter.com/BH35IfljiO
— ICC (@ICC) July 9, 2021
Earlier in the game, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur opted to bowl first after winning the toss. The openers did a great job for the hosts adding 56 runs for the first wicket. Danielle Wyatt played a 31-run knock for them including 3 fours. Nat Sciver who came to bat at number 3 accelerated the innings and powered the side to a big total. She smashed 55 runs off 27 balls including 8 fours and 1 six.
Wicketkeeper Amy Jones also played a blinder scoring 43 runs off 27 balls with the help of 4 fours and 2 sixes. England posted 177 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs. Shikha Pandey was the most successful bowler for India as she picked up 3 wickets for 22 runs in her 4 overs. Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav picked one wicket each for the visitors.
Chasing this total, India lost its explosive opener, Shafali Verma, on the second ball of the very first over. She was dismissed by Katherine Brunt for a duck. Smriti Mandhana played a fine knock of 29 runs off 17 balls but the other batters failed to impress. India had scored 54/3 in 8.4 overs when rain interrupted the match. England were announced winners by 18 runs with DLS making its way.
Top performers
Nat Sciver (ENG) – England batter Nat Sciver made the biggest contribution in the team win with her blistering fifty. She did not let the scoring rate go down even when wickets were falling at the other end. She was adjudged as the player of the match for her wonderful knock.
Shikha Pandey (IND) – Indian pacer Shikha Pandey proved to be very economical in the first game. She also picked up important wickets of Nat Sciver, Sophie Dunkley and Amy Jones.
Key stats
Radha Yadav took a wicket in her 27th consecutive T20I innings. She has already made the World record in this regard and continued her streak.
Nat Sciver smashed the fastest fifty for England Women in T20Is (24 balls). Before her, Tammy Beaumont held this record (27-ball fifty against South Africa in 2018).
What next?
The second match of the T20 series will be played on 11th July at County Ground, Hove. The hosts will be looking to seal the series with another win while India would want to come back to winning ways.
