In the first ODI of the three-match series, at the County Ground, Bristol, England Women exposed the chasm between the two sides with a resounding eight-wicket win against India Women. India neither built any momentum while batting, nor looked threatening on the field.
Heather Knight won the toss in the morning and decided to bowl. Both teams had a debutant each, in Sophia Dunkley and Shafali Verma. Verma opened for India with Smriti Mandhana and started confidently. However, in an attempt to be more aggressive, she mistimed a short ball from Katherine Brunt and was dismissed for 15. Mandhana was also dismissed cheaply by Anya Shrubsole.
Captain Mithali Raj and Punam Raut batted for the next 15 overs but could add a mere 56. As the pressure mounted, Raut fell for 32, to Kate Cross. Soon, Harmanpreet Kaur became the first of Sophie Ecclestone’s three wickets.
Raj and Deepti Sharma then added 65 for the fifth wicket. Sharma scored 30 off 46 before becoming Shrubsole’s second victim. Raj eventually tried to dab one off Ecclestone and was bowled for 72.
Pooja Vastrakar added 15, but the rest of the tail did not contribute. India finished on 201/8. The three top scorers for India, Raj (72 in 108 balls), Sharma (30 in 46), and Raut (32 in 61) all scored at under 70. In all, India played 181 dot balls.
Ecclestone (3-40) was the leading wicket-taker, while England’s famed opening pair, Brunt (2-35) and Shrubsole (2-33), got a couple of wickets each.
The English batters were not under any pressure during the chase. Lauren Winfield-Hill (16) and Tammy Beaumont (87*) added 24 in quick time before Jhulan Goswami (1-25) got the former caught behind. Ekta Bisht (1-55) then beat Knight (18) in flight and bowled her.
England were 83/2, but if anything, they accelerated. Beaumont (87*) and Nat Sciver (74*) scored at exactly a run a ball, and led England to a win inside 35 overs.
The teams will play next at Taunton, on 30 June.
Brief scores: India Women 201/8 in 50 overs (Mithali Raj 72; Sophie Ecclestone 3-40) lost to England Women 202/2 in 34.5 overs (Tammy Beaumont 87*; Jhulan Goswami 1-25) by 8 wickets with 91 balls to spare.