Another century on England soil in vain! Harleen Deol's 91-ball 100 not enough to chase down 354 as designated finishers fail

On June 24, Harmanpreet Kaur-led India played a warm-up game against ECB Women Development XI which turned out to be a high-scoring affair in Bromley. Chasing a target of 354, the visitors put up a fight with Harleen Deol walking out to bat at no.3 and scoring a 91-ball 100. But, after Harleen returned to the pavillion, India could not get over the finishing line and lost the match by 18 runs.

Openers help England post daunting total

Harmanpreet won the toss and opted to bowl first. Openers Emma Lamb and Maia Bouchier frustrated Indian bowlers. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani got the breakthrough with Lamb's wicket. She scored 94 runs from 92 balls. Bouchier returned to the pavillion after reaching her century. She scored 104 runs from 84 balls, including 16 fours. Hollie Armitage could not get going and got out hit wicket for a seven-ball 11.

Alice Davidson-Richards (49-ball 42), Danielle Wyatt (32-ball 34), Paige Scholfield (25-ball 34) and Bess Heath's (9-ball 18) cameos helped England post 353/5. Charani got the wicket of Scholfield. Spinners Sneh Rana and Radhav Yadav got one wicket each as well.

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Openers fail, Harleen scores ton

In the run chase, Smriti Mandhana departed for just a single. Left-arm pacer Mahika Gaur trapped Mandhana in front of the stumps on the second ball she bowled. In her comeback game, Shafali Verma got bowled by Ryana Macdonald-Gay. She scored 16 runs from 13 balls. Harlee and Yastika Bhatia got the run chase back on track with a 105-run partnership. Bhatia played second fiddle to Deol who dealt in boundaries. Bhatia scored 32 runs from 45 balls before falling to Sarah Glenn.

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Harmanpreet and Deol tried to push the scoring rate. Deol reached her century from 91 balls and then went back to the pavillion. She hit 14 fours and a six. Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh could not contribute and were dismissed for five runs each. Rodrigues was run out whereas Ghosh got out to Glenn. Harmanpreet reached her fifty but was dismissed soon after by Mady Villiers. She scored 54 runs from 47 balls, including five fours and a six. In the next over, Deepti Sharma got bowled for a 19-ball 15. Macdonlad-Gay knocked over Radha Yadav for a single-digit score in the 44th over.

Amanjot, Reddy's cameos not enough

Amanjot Kaur kept the run chase alive. In the 47th over, Kirstie Gordon got her wicket. She scored 43 runs from 32 balls, including six fours. The vistors needed 45 runs from 19 balls with one wicket left. Arundhati Reddy's unbeaten 21-ball 30 cameo help stretch the score. On the other end, Rana scored seven runs from nine balls. India managed to post 335/9 and lost the match by 18 runs.

5 T20Is and 3 ODIs on England soil

The T20I series will begin on June 28 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. After the five-T20I series, the three-ODI series will be played from July 16 to July 22. The ODI series will help India prepare for the ODI World Cup 2025 at home. Before the mega event, India will also host Australia for a limited-overs series.