India women vs England women: Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma fell in the first over of the innings but Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues fifties followed by a clinical bowling display ensured that visitors beat England by 38 runs in the T20I series opener on May 27 at County Ground, Chelmsford. Yastika made the opportunity county on her T20I comeback after two years whereas young pacer Nandni Sharma claimed a three-fer to impress on debut.
Yastika, Jemimah’s 50s help India recover after early blows
England skipper Charlotte Dean won the toss and opted to bowl first. Laurel Bell struck off the first ball of the match, dismissing Mandhana for a golden duck. On the last ball of the over, she got the wicket of Shafali as well. Yastika did not take much time to get going. She hit Issy Wong for four fours. In the same over, Issy bowled five wides twice and ended up conceding 27 runs. Yastika used the powerplay overs well and did not let Tilly Corteen-Coleman or Sophie Ecclestone settle. India were 73/2 after powerplay overs.
From 40 off 17 deliveries, Yastika slowed down in the middle overs. On the last ball of the 10th over, she reached her half-century from 31 balls, her first in 20 T20Is. In the 12th over, Jemimah reached her fifty with a maximum off Tilly. She took 31 deliveries to reach the milestone as well. In the 14th over, Yastika got a reprieve but lost her wicket to Charlie two balls later. She got run out for a 40-ball 54 featuring nine fours and a six. In the same over, Charlie got Jemimah out caught and bowled. Jemimah scored 69 runs from 40 deliveries, including 10 fours and a six. India were 137/4 after 14 overs.
Richa Ghosh and Bharti Fulmali failed to make an impact, falling to Tilly and Issy respectively for single-digit scores. Deepti Sharma contributed with a 13-ball 22 cameo. Lauren got her wicket on the penultimate delivery of the innings but India managed to post 188/7, their third-highest T20I total against England.
Kranti, Nandni trouble England batters
In the run chase, Sophia Dunkley looked to attack early. She hit a couple of fours in the first over and smashed Kranti Gaud for a six in the second over. Kranti had her revenge soon by getting Sophia got at mid-off. The opener was dismissed for a 10-ball 16. In her second over, the youngster got the wicket of Alice Capsey as well. England were 43/2 after powerplay overs. Nandni was expensive in her first two overs, conceding 23 runs from two overs. Amy Jones dealt in boundaries while Heather Knight tried to play herself in. Amy reached her half-century from 32 balls in the 11th over.
Pressure was building on England batters after two boundary-less overs. England were 100/2 after 13 overs. Shree Charani provided the breakthrough with Heather's wicket. She scored 21 runs from 24 balls. Nandni was brought back into the attack to bowl the 16th over. The debutant struck off consecutive deliveries, getting better of Amy and Danielle Gibson. May departed after scoring 67 runs from 48 deliveries. In last four overs, England needed 69 runs. Arundhati Reddy, Deepti and Kranti got one wicket each in the slog overs as England managed to post 150/8, losing the match by 38 runs.
Jemimah was named 'Player of the match' for her 16th T20I fifty. India took a 1-0 lead against the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 hosts. The second T20I of the series will be played at the same venue on May 30.