New Delhi: All thanks to Sarah Glenn and the wet conditions in Chester-le Street that England women won the first T20I by nine wickets. India batting first could only post a total of 132 after wickets kept falling at regular intervals. It was an easy chase for England and just a 13-over affair.
Smriti Mandhana gave a good start to the inning after getting out for 23(20) in the fourth over. After that, it was just a Sarah Glenn show who ended up with the figures of 23/4 as she picked up Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemlatha, Harmanpreet Kaur, and debutant KP Nagvire. India had depth in the batting lineup with Sneh Rana coming at number 9, but it did not work out well. It was Deepti Sharma who finished fine to get her side to a fighting total. She scored 29* off 24 including three boundaries to end things with 12 runs in the final over.
The English batters started with a blast and posted a 60-run opening partnership. Going with almost 10-per-over, the English batting was halted by Sneh Rana, who dismissed Danni Wyatt for 24 off 16 balls. With an explosive batting lineup, England was in total control. Renuka Thakur, who was expected to do well in the English conditions, as she did in the Commonwealth Games, was the only inexpensive bowler. No plan worked for India in the wet conditions and England chased down the total with seven overs remaining. Sophia Dunkley scored 61* off 44 while Alice Capsey scored 32* off 20 balls.
After the game, the Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur accepted that the team could not get runs, but also criticized the playing conditions. Radha Yadav’s dive in the second over of England’s chase led to a shoulder injury and she left the field in pain. India lost a key bowler who might have turned things for the side.
