That’s all for tonight. Thanks for your company – we’ll be back for the second game in Bristol on Saturday. Goodnight!
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Raf Nicholson’s report:
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Smriti Mandhana's verdict
It wasn’t the ideal start, but credit to Yastika to come back in after eight months and play the way she did. She took the game away in the Powerplay. And then of course Jemi doing Jemi things – she batted brilliantly.
I thought we could maybe have got 10 more runs but our fielding and bowling was really up to the mark. All the bowlers were brilliant in their execution. They were really calm under pressure.
[Nandni Sharma] is just brilliant. She comes with a lot of fire and I was really excited to see her bowl today.
Charlie Dean's reaction
Jemi and Yastika put on a brilliant partnership and we couldn’t break it early enough. It’s disappointing – we felt were in a good position with the bat at the halfway stage, but we fell away at the end.
There are elements of real positivity, especially in the field, but it’s disappointing to not get over the line. We’re really great when we’re on top; it’s just that shift and how to swing momentum back round to us.
Tilly was brilliant. I love the way she goes about it and how calm she is.
The player of the match is the marvellous Jemimah Rodrigues
A lot of credit goes to Yastika [Bhatia]. We assessed conditions and I think the partnership was crucial. T20 is all about momentum and we knew one partnership would change the game.
My game is more about picking gaps, being smart and playing on the bowler’s mind.
I really enjoy fielding. Today it felt like a yo-yo session! But it was fun, I enjoyed it.
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India win by 38 runs
20th over: England 150-8 (Dean 11, Bell 1) A thumping victory for India in Chelmsford, and plenty for England to think about. There were some positives, particularly the batting of Amy Jones and the bowling of Tilly Corteen-Coleman, but it was an erratic performance overall and England struggled to cope when India put them under severe pressure.
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WICKET! England 144-8 (Ecclestone run out 13)
A comedy run-out, why not. Dean and Ecclestone end up at the same end after a mix-up, and the non-striker Ecclestone is the one to go. She stomps off with a face like the apocalypse.
19th over: England 142-7 (Dean 5, Ecclestone 12) Shree Charani, excellent as always, finishes her spell with figures of 4-0-25-1.
18th over: England 134-7 (Dean 4, Ecclestone 5) It’s been a pretty high-scoring game – 322 runs and counting – yet only five batters have reached double figures.
In other, more important news, Nandni Sharma ends a memorable debut with figures of 4-0-34-3.
WICKET! England 129-7 (Wong b N Sharma 4)
Charlie Dean keeps out the hat-trick delivery – but Nandni gets another wicket soon after with a delicious slower ball that cleans up Issy Wong. India have taken four wickets for nine runs in 11 balls.
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17th over: England 128-6 (Dean 3, Wong 4) Issy Wong hits her first ball for four. And now it’s time for Nandni Sharma’s hat-trick ball.
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WICKET! England 124-6 (Kemp c Ghosh b D Sharma 8)
England are falling in a heap. Freya Kemp tries to cut a very wide ball from Deepti Sharma and gets a thin edge that is smartly taken by Ghosh up to the stumps.
16th over: England 120-5 (Kemp 7, Dean 0) That was the last ball of the over, so Sharma will be on a hat-trick when she returns.
WICKET! England 120-5 (Gibson c Varma b N Sharma 0)
The debutant Nandni Sharma is on a hat-trick! Dani Gibson lifted a slower ball high into the leg side and was excellently caught on the run by Verma.
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WICKET! England 120-4 (Jones c Verma b N Sharma 67)
Game over. Jones slog-sweeps a slower ball from Nandni Sharma to deep midwicket, where Shafali Verma takes the catch with glee. Jones played excellently to make 67 from 48 balls but there wasn’t enough support and the required rate became prohibitive.
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15th over: England 115-3 (Jones 66, Kemp 3) There have been some positives for England, whatever the result, including this innings from Amy Jones. She hits Deepti for two fours at the start of the over – but there are no boundaries and the required rate creeps up to 14.80.
14th over: England 103-3 (Jones 56, Kemp 1) Terrific stuff from India, who have restricted England to only three runs from each of the last three overs. The result is that England need 86 from 36 balls, and Slim has made a run for the last train.
WICKET! England 101-3 (Knight c Rodrigues b Charani 22)
Knight slog-sweeps Charani straight to deep midwicket, where the ultra-reliable Rodrigues takes a comfortable catch. That was a frustrating innings from Knight, and a strike-rate of 92 won’t satisfy those who think she scores too slowly for a modern T20 team.
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13th over: England 100-2 (Jones 54, Knight 22) Reddy turns the screw with another excellent, boundaryless over. England have scored only six from the last two overs, and Knight (22 from 23 balls) is really struggling to find the boundary.
12th over: England 97-2 (Jones 52, Knight 21) Kranti Gaud ends another excellent spell – she loves bowling in England – with figures of 4-0-24-2. The required rate is up to 11.5 per over.
11th over: England 94-2 (Jones 51, Knight 19) Jones clips Deepti for a single to bring up a classy fifty from 32 balls. Knight thumps the next ball whence it came for a much needed boundary. England are still in the game, just about: they need 95 from 54 balls.
10th over: England 85-2 (Jones 48, Knight 13) Charani strengthens India’s position with a boundaryless over that costs only six. There has been a lot of talk about Heather Knight’s strike rate; it’s currently 87, but I guess we should defer judgement until the end of the innings.
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9th over: England 79-2 (Jones 46, Knight 9) Deepti Sharma jogs in to bowl her first delivery, then stops in her delivery stride and looks at the non-striker Amy Jones. Crikey, was that really four years ago?
When Jones gets on strike, she reverse-pulls and sweeps successive boundaries. Knight then has to dive to make her ground after coming back for a couple.
Jones has 46 from 28 balls, Knight 9 from 11.
8th over: England 66-2 (Jones 35, Knight 7) Jones times Charani stylishly through extra cover for her fifth boundary. Four singles make it a decent enough over for both teams.
England need 123 from 72 balls.
7th over: England 58-2 (Jones 29, Knight 5) England go after the debutant Nandni, with Jones hitting two boundaries and Knight one in an over that goes for 15. Now it’s time for some spin from the left-armer Shree Charani.
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6th over: England 43-2 (Jones 18, Knight 1) That second wicket has put the brakes on England, who have scored only six from the last two overs.
In case you missed the start of the game, Heather Knight is now England’s most capped women’s cricketer. This is her 310th appearance, one more than Charlotte Edwards.
5th over: England 39-2 (Jones 15, Knight 1) A fabulous inswinger from Reddy beats Jones on the inside and bounces just over the stumps. Just two runs from the over.
Since you asked, at the same stage India were 66 for 2.
4th over: England 37-2 (Jones 14, Knight 0) That was the last ball of an over that started well for England when Capsey and Jones both crashed cut shots to the fence.
WICKET! England 37-2 (Capsey c Ghosh b Gaud 6)
Alice Capsey chases a stinker of a delivery from Gaud and gets a top edge through to Richa Ghosh. It was short and wide, almost too wide, and Capsey was straining just to reach the ball.
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3rd over: England 27-1 (Capsey 1, Jones 9) The debutant Nandni Sharma, who was called up after an excellent performance in the WPL, comes into the attack. The non-striker Capsey is almost run out when a throw from mid-on misses the stumps; it would have been seriously close with a direct hit.
After taking only two runs from the first four balls, Jones belts a boundary straight down the ground. Nandni stuck out a hand but didn’t get a touch; it would have been a miraculous catch.
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2nd over: England 19-1 (Capsey 1, Jones 1) Amy Jones is the new batter.
WICKET! England 18-1 (Dunkley c Verma b Gaud 16)
Dunkley launches Kranti Gaud back over her head for six, but that’s as good as it gets. Two balls later she clunks a cross-bat stroke towards mid-off and is nicely caught on the run by Verma. That’s another frustrating cameo from Dunkley, 16 from 9 balls.
1st over: England 11-0 (Dunkley 10, Capsey 0) The England openers, Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey, are in the strange position of knowing one of them will probably miss out at the start of the World Cup. Watch the running!
There are no tight singles in the first over, just two boundaries for Dunkley – an inside-edge and a meaty cut – and a safe two on the leg side.
The players are back on the field, and Arundhati Reddy has the ball.
England need 189 to win
20th over: India 188-7 (Reddy 9, Gaud 1) A single off the last ball, so Lauren Bell ends with figures of 4-0-34-3. Her two-wicket opening over seems a long time ago, thanks mainly to a blistering counter-attack from Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues. India should have enough runs.
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WICKET! India 183-7 (D Sharma c Dean b Bell 22)
Deepti Sharma pulls a slower ball to deep midwicket to end a handy cameo of 22 from 13 balls. One delivery remaining.
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19th over: India 178-6 (D Sharma 17, Reddy 5) A very costly penultimate over for England, with Dani Gibson being hit for 17. It could have been even worse – Deepti Sharma hit the first two balls for four, then Gibson sprayed five wides down the leg side. Gibson did well to concede only a single from the last four deliveries, but that still feels like a big moment. It’s not only in a runchase that the 19th over can be pivotal.
Talking of 19, that’s how many runs England have conceded in wides tonight. Where’s Paul Hardcastle when you need him, or Rory Bremner for that matter.
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18th over: India 161-6 (D Sharma 7, Reddy 3) Deepti Sharma sweeps her old friend Charlie Dean expertly for four. But that’s the only boundary from another pretty good over for England, and dean finishes with superb figures of 4-0-26-1.
17th over: India 153-6 (D Sharma 2, Reddy 1) Wong, who is bowling round the wicket to the right-handers, has a big LBW appeal against Reddy turned down. It was closer than it looked but probably pitched just outside leg stump.
Scorecard aficionados will love India’s. These are the individual scores:
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0
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2
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54
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69
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4
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7
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2
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1
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WICKET! India 148-6 (Fulmali b Wong 6)
The fightback continues. Wong gets a wicket of her own, bowling Fulmali off the pad with an excellent slower ball. It hasn’t been perfect from England, not even close, but the response to adversity from Corteen-Coleman and especially Wong has been admirable.
16th over: India 148-5 (Fulmali 6, D Sharma 0) Richa Ghosh is a helluva first wicket for Corteen-Coleman. And after an understandably nervous first over, she has bowled beautifully. Figures of 3-0-19-1 do not flatter her.
WICKET! India 148-5 (Ghosh c Wong b Corteen-Coleman 4)
Tilly Corteen-Coleman gets her first T20I wicket thanks to a sensational catch from Issy Wong! Ghosh got into position to reverse-hoick over short third, but she didn’t get enough on it and Wong charged back to take a truly brilliant running catch.
15th over: India 144-4 (Ghosh 2, Fulmali 4) India are still on top, especially as England are a batter light, but those wickets have changed the mood a little. Bharti Fulmali doesn’t necessarily agree: she hammers Ecclestone down the ground for her first boundary.
14th over: India 137-4 (Ghosh 0, Fulmali 0) Rodrigues’ innings was a delight: 69 from 40 balls with 10 fours, all round Chelmsford, and a six.
WICKET! India 137-4 (Rodrigues ct and b Dean 69)
Two wickets in three balls for England, and this definitely isn’t a blessing in disguse for India. Rodrigues played beautifully and looked on for a century until she popped a leading edge back down the ground and was superbly caught by Dean. With bat or ball, in the field or as captain, she is a gem of a cricketer.
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WICKET! India 133-3 (Bhatia run out 54)
A much needed wicket for England, though it might be a blessing in disguise for India. Bhatia had lost her way after a pulsating start and now she’s on her way. She was dropped by Gibson earlier in the over, a sharp chance in the covers, and was short of her ground when the bowler Dean collected a good throw from Corteen-Coleman and broke the stumps.
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13th over: India 127-2 (Bhatia 53, Rodrigues 60) Bhatia swishes unsuccessfully at a full toss from Bell that almost hits the stumps. It’s been an innings of two halves from Bhatia: 40 from the first 16 balls, 13 from the last 22.
Rodrigues has batted at the same tempo throughout and gets four more with a beautifully placed dab past short third.
12th over: India 120-2 (Bhatia 52, Rodrigues 54) Wowsers. Rodrigues moves to a 31-ball fifty, a blistering and beautiful fifty – by launching Corteen-Coleman’s first ball over long-off for six.
Corteen-Coleman responds superbly – first with a flighted delivery that takes a leading edge and loops just short of the bowler, then with a quicker ball that beats the advancing Bhatia and is fumbled down the leg side by Jones. It wasn’t an easy stumping chance, but a keeper of Jones’ quality etc etc.
On the plus side, that was such an impressive response from Corteen-Coleman: six off the first ball, two off the last five.
11th over: India 112-2 (Bhatia 51, Rodrigues 47) Rodrigues carves Gibson over the off side for four. After a single from Bhatia brings up a mildly outrageous hundred partnership from only 58 balls, Rodrigues dumps a full toss over mid-on for four more. England are wilting under the admittedly considerable pressure.
10th over: India 101-2 (Bhatia 50, Rodrigues 37) Issy Wong, whose first over went for 27, returns to the attack and shows no sign of being affected by that hideous start. Bhatia lashes four over mid-off, her first boundary since the fifth over, but it was a terrific shot rather than a poor ball. A clip for two takes Bhatia to a coruscating 31-ball fifty, her first in T20 internationals. Not bad for somebody playing their first game for India in any format since 2024.
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9th over: India 92-2 (Bhatia 43, Rodrigues 35) Rodrigues reverse sweeps Ecclestone through short third for four. It went straight under Bell, who will know she should have done better.
This has been a worrying performance in the field from England, even if India have put them under pressure with some exceptional batting. Rodrigues reinforces that point by making room to thump another emphatic boundary over the off side.
8th over: India 81-2 (Bhatia 42, Rodrigues 25) A terrific over from Dean includes four successive dot balls to Bhatia. England really needed a quiet over like that, and their captain delivered it.
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7th over: India 79-2 (Bhatia 41, Rodrigues 24) Dani Gibson becomes England’s sixth bowler of the innings in only the seventh over. It’s a pretty good start, with a tight wicket-to-wicket line and only six runs conceded.
6th over: India 73-2 (Bhatia 40, Rodrigues 19) Charlie Dean brings herself on for the final over of the Powerplay. Rodrigues pulls ferociously behind square for four, then gets lucky when a top-edged sweep is misjudged by Corteen-Coleman at short fine leg. She didn’t quite backpedal quickly enough and couldn’t get a hand on the ball as it dropped to the turf.
5th over: India 66-2 (Bhatia 40, Rodrigues 12) Sophie Ecclestone’s first ball is driven inside-out for four by Rodrigues, the shot of the innings so far. Bhatia sees that shot and raises it, skipping down to chip over wide long-on for six. This is awesome batting from India, Bhatia in particular, and England are under serious pressure.
This is already a career-best score for Bhatia, which is hard to believe given how well she has played.
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4th over: India 51-2 (Bhatia 30, Rodrigues 7) The debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman replaces Issy Wong. She starts a little nervously, with two unpunished full tosses, before Bhatia crashes another boundary to bring up the fifty from just 3.5 overs.
England may not have bowled well, but India’s response to losing both openers in the first half has been extraordinary.
3rd over: India 44-2 (Bhatia 25, Rodrigues 5) A low full toss from Bell is chipped jauntily over midwicket for four by Rodrigues. There’s a brief concussion check when a throw from the outfield hits Bhatia on the helmet; when play resumes, Bhatia inside-edges a jaffa from Bell for four more. Some start, this.
Wong's first over goes for 27
2nd over: India 34-2 (Bhatia 21, Rodrigues 0) With no Linsey Smith in the side, Issy Wong shares the new ball. The result is a nightmare for Wong and England. There were three wides early in the over, two of which flew down the leg side to the boundary, and Yastika Bhatia ran with the mood to hit four fours of her own. The first two were sliced deliberately through backward point, and she followed up with drives through mid-off and cover.
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1st over: India 7-2 (Bhatia 5, Rodrigues 0) That was the last ball of a pr-etty eventful first over.
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WICKET! India 7-2 (Verma c Capsey b Bell 2)
Two wickets in the over! After getting off the mark with a streaky mishit over the off side, Shafali Verma drags Bell towards mid-on and is caught by the stooping Alice Capsey.
That was smart bowling from Bell, who followed Verma outside leg stump and cramped her for room.
WICKET! India 0-1 (Mandhana c Dean b Bell 0)
Smriti Mandhana drives the first ball of the match straight to Charlie Dean at extra cover! It’s a perfect start for England – and the second time in just over a week that Lauren Bell has taken a wicket with the first ball of a T20 series. There’s your statgasm for the night.
Time for the action, and action there will be from ball one
This week’s Spin is a cracking read. Raf’s book, which she’s been researching for 15 years, is published next week and looks superb.
Heather Knight, a quiet giant of English cricket in the past decade, is about to become England’s most capped women’s cricketer. Tonight’s game in Chelmsford is her 310th appearance across formats, one more than her coach Charlotte Edwards. “What a place to do it, eh?” chirps Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports.
Team news
The precocious Tilly Corteen-Coleman makes her T20I debut, one of two changes from the series decider against New Zealand on Monday. Lauren Bell also returns to the XI; Linsey Smith is rested and Maia Bouchier has been omitted. England’s batting looks light – presumably by design, to see how Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson fare under pressure in the middle order.
India make three changes from their most recent T20I, a defeat to South Africa at Benoni in April. Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia and Nandni Sharma come in for Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur and Renuka Singh.
England Dunkley, Capsey, Jones (wk), Knight, Kemp, Gibson, Dean (c), Wong, Ecclestone, Bell, Corteen-Coleman.
India Mandhana (c), Verma, Bhatia, Rodrigues, Fulmali, Ghosh (wk), D Sharma, Reddy, Charani, N Sharma, Gaud.
England win the toss and bowl
Two stand-in captains at the toss. Smriti Mandhana calls incorrectly and Charlie Dean puts India into the bat. Smriti confirms that Harmanpreet Kaur is being rested today.
India are in a horrible group at the T20 World Cup. Only two teams qualify for the semi-finals, which makes the presence of Australia and South Africa (who beat India 4-1 in a recent T20 series) less than ideal. But there’s still every chance India can become undisputed white-ball world champions.
Aside from that defeat in South Africa, their T20 form has been excellent since they failed to get out of the group at the last World Cup two years ago. In the last 12 months they have won T20 series in both England and Australia – and nine of their squad started the ODI World Cup final win over South Africa in November.
Preamble
What do you get for beating the world champions? An even tougher test a few days later. England started their T20 World Cup build-up with a 2-1 series win over the holders New Zealand; now they face the 50-over world champions, India, in an intriguing three-match series that begins at a sweltering Chelmsford.
Most people have India as second favourites behind Australia to win the World Cup, so this is a litmus test for both teams. But while neither team will want to go into the World Cup on the back of a series defeat, winning and losing is only part of the story. Cricket is an individual game within a team sport, and there are places up for grabs in both teams.
By the time the series finishes at Taunton on Tuesday, Charlotte Edwards and Amol Muzumdar should know their XIs to start the World Cup.
Tonight’s match begins at 6.30pm.
