Opener Smriti Mandhana’s half-century, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and wicketkeeper-batsman Yastika Bhatia led India to a seven-wicket win over England in the first ODI at Hove on Sunday. With this, India has taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. England posted a disappointing 227/7 in their 50 overs, with Ellis Davidson-Richards (50*) and Danny Wyatt (43) being the top scorers. Deepti Sharma scored a brilliant 2/33 with the ball. Chasing 221 runs from Mandhana (91), Harmanpreet (74*) and Yastika (50), India helped England complete the challenge with 34 balls to spare.
Smriti Mandhana won the player of the match award for her scintillating 9_1_ runs__
clinical run-chase from #teamindia Beat England by 7_ wickets to go 1-0 up in the series _
Full scorecard here https://t.co/x1UIAVe2e6#Engwind pic.twitter.com/7Fixwa4Ut2— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 18, 2022
Chasing 221, India suffered early hiccups when opener Shafali Verma was dismissed for just one run by pacer Kate Cross after her flick effort went into the midwicket area in the hands of a fielder. . India was 1/3 this time. After that, opener Smriti Mandhana and wicketkeeper-batsman Yastika Bhatia pushed the innings into another gear with their aggressive intent, hunting down every ball they could. He helped his team cross the 50-run mark in nine overs and also developed a fifty-run stand.
After the mandatory powerplay in 10 overs, India remained at 59/1 with Yastika (25*) and Smriti (27*) remaining in the lead.
The hosts’ quest for wickets continued as the duo kept the scoreboard moving with a healthy mix of strike rotation and boundaries. Bhatia completed his half-century in just 45 balls, which went for four after a lucky inside edge. Charlie Dean broke the 96-run stand between the two as the offspinner’s delivery hit the top of the off-stump through the gap between the bat and the pad. Bhatia played a brilliant innings of 50 runs in 47 balls. India were on 99/2. The next batsman was captain Harmanpreet Kaur. She picked up where she left off the previous partnership, providing valuable support to Mandhana, who completed her half-century.
Mandhana was looking well towards her century, but a top-swipe aimed at the midwicket region caught Davidson-Richards at mid-on, ending a 99-run stand between Mandhana and Kaur. Cross dismissed Mandhana for 91 off 99 balls. India were at 198/3. The next batsman was Harleen Deol. With all that was left to chase, the batsmen continued. Kaur brought. Kaur completed her fifty in 80 balls.
India ended the innings on a winning note at 232/3 in 44.2 overs with Kaur (74*) and Deol (6*). Kate Cross finished as the best English bowler with 2/43.
Earlier, India women restricted England to a modest total of 227 runs at the end of 50 overs after winning the toss and inviting the hosts to bat first at the Hove County ground on Sunday. The Indian bowlers rejoiced throughout the innings, taking wickets regularly to ensure that the England batsmen did not form big partnerships. The Indian bowlers entered the batting of the English lineup quickly and did not allow the hosts to utilize the powerplay overs. India shed first blood in the eighth over after Meghana Singh dismissed Emma Lamb for 12.
Experienced Jhulan Goswami dropped Tammy Beaumont (7) in front of the wickets and cheaply sent him back to the pavilion to leave England for 21/2 in the ninth over. Sophia Dunkley, along with Ellis Capsi, led the English innings and shared a 43-run partnership.
Captain Harmanpreet introduced the slow bowlers and this led to the death of Ellis Capsi. Sneharana overtook Capsi as she handed a simple catch to the Indian captain and went back to the dressing room, scoring 19 runs on her ODI debut.
Sophia Dunkley, who played a match-winning knock in the recently concluded T20I series, was caught soon after and Harleen Deol was caught for 29 by Deepti Sharma to worry England at 88/4 in the 25th over left in position. England’s stand-in captain Amy Jones was dismissed for three by Rajeshwari Gaikwad, leaving half of the hosts in the dugout and England still unable to reach the three-figure mark. England’s score was 94/5 in the 27th over.
After this, Daniel Wyatt and Davidson Richards shared a 34-run partnership with England to cross the three-figure mark. Wyatt was then dismissed by Deepti Sharma as the all-rounder dismissed the batsman’s wood.
Richards stitched a half-century partnership with Ecclestone and took England to 178. Deepti Sharma broke the partnership as she caught Ecclestone in front of the wickets in the 43rd over. The innings never saw a real climax as the hosts scored 227 runs at the end of 50 overs.
Davidson Richards played an unbeaten innings of 50 runs while Wyatt also played an innings of 43 runs. Deepti Sharma was the bowler’s choice as she took two wickets for just 33 runs in her 10 overs.
Brief Scores: England 227/7 in 50 overs (Davidson Richards 50*, Daniel Wyatt 43; Deepti Sharma 2/33) lost to India 232/3 (Smriti Mandhana 91, Harmanpreet Kaur 74*, Kate Cross 2/43) in 44.2 overs by seven Went. Wicket.