A day after a defeat in high-scoring 50-over contest despite Harleen Deol's century, India suffered defeat in the warm-up T20 encounter against ECB Development Women's XI as well. On June 25, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side lost the T20 encounter by six runs as they failed to chase down the target of 195.
England set challenging target
The home side's captain Hollie Armitage won the toss and opted to bat first. Bryony Smith and Maia Bouchier shared a 77-run opening partnership. Bryony hit eight fours and three sixes in her her 33-ball 62. She was dismissed by Sneh Rana in the eighth over. In the 12th over, Rana dismissed Bouchier as well. She scored 35 runs from 25 balls. Armitage and Emma Lamb attacked in the middle overs. Lamb hit three fours in her 15-ball 22. Then Alice Davidson-Richards got run out.
Armitage continued to deal in boundaries. Bess Heath in the penultimate over got bowled by Amanjot Kaur. In the same over, Armitage missed her fifty by just two runs. She hit seven fours in her 32-ball 48. In the final over, Deepti Sharma dismissed Elanor Threlkeld for a golden duck. Mady Villiers was run out after scoring six runs from three balls. ECB Development Women's XI posted a challenging total of 194/8.
Mandhana gets India off to ideal start
Shafali Verma and Mandhana got India off to a good start. In the fourth over, Kirstie Gordon dismissed Shafali for a nine-ball 13. Mandhana helped India dominate in the powerplay overs. In the eighth over, Mandhana missed her half-century as Davidson-Richards sent per backing. The opener hit 10 fours in her 28-ball 47. Amanjot could not justify the promotion up the order and got out lbw to Sarah Glenn for a 13-ball 15. Similarly, Jemimah Rodrigues could not do much damage. She scored 11 runs from 10 balls and lost her wicket to Gordon.
Harmanpreet, Richa's cameos not enough
Harmanpreet kept the run chase alive. She scored 28 runs from 16 balls. Glenn dismissed her in the 15th over. Richa Ghosh lacked support from the other end. She hit four fours and a six in her 23-ball 37 before becoming Glenn's third victim. Radha Yadav hit one six and played a few dot balls in her unbeaten 15-ball 17. In the final over Ryana MacDonald-Gay struck twice to see the backs of Arundhati Reddy and Shree Charani. India posted 188/8 and lost the match by six runs. Deol did not come out to bat in the game.
India's chance to script history
The five-T20I series will begin on June 28 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. India Women have not won a series on England soil (barring the only T20I in 2026). They would look to win the first five-T20I series between the two teams.