Opener Tammy Beaumont (87 not out) and Natalie Sciver (74 not out) helped England Women canter to victory in Bristol in the first ODI, as they whipped India Women by eight wickets at the County Ground on Sunday.
England won the toss and opted to bowl, and their decision paid off as all that India could manage was a modest 201/8, courtesy captain Mithali Raj’s 72, which wasn’t at all enough to challenge the hosts. The grit that was seen in the one-off Test seemed to be missing as barring the captain, hardly anyone else could deliver under pressure.
In reply, Beaumont, along with her opening partner Lauren Winfield-Hill and skipper Heather Knight, ensured the hosts scored in excess of five per over in the first 15 overs.
Sciver then joined Beaumont following Knight’s dismissal and the duo took the visitors’ bowling attack to the cleaners, putting away almost everything that was in their own zone. With their unbroken stand of 119, England won with as many as 91 balls to spare.
Earlier, skipper Mithali led from the front with a patient knock to take the team to 201 for eight. Mithali held India’s innings together following two early dismissals after the visitors were sent in to bat.
She shared two crucial partnerships – 56 runs with Punam Raut (32) and 65 with Deepti Sharma (30) – to take India forward. But the start was far from impressive as India lost both the openers cheaply.
Touted as the next big thing in Indian women’s cricket, young Shafali Verma’s much-anticipated ODI debut lasted just 14 balls during which she scored 15 with the help of three fours.
Shafali, who became the youngest Indian cricketer to debut across all formats on Sunday, perished in search of a big shot too many when she miscued a Katherine Brunt (2/35) delivery to Anya Shrubsole at mid-on in the fifth over.
Smriti Mandhana (10) followed soon after when Shrubsole (2/33) went through her defence before Punam and Mithali resurrected the innings. After the early dismissals, both Punam and Mithali played cautiously but did not hesitate to punish the bad balls.
Just as their partnership was starting to flourish, Punam departed by offering a simple catch to Sophie Ecclestone off Kate Cross. Vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s poor form continued as she didn’t trouble the scorers much, sneaking one to Amy Jones off Sophie Ecclestone (3/40).
Just when Mithali looked to be well into her groove, Ecclestone got rid of her in the 46th over as India slumped to 180 for six.
Brief scores: India Women 201/8 in 50 ovs (M. Raj 72; S, Ecclestone 3/40). England Women 202/2 in 34.5 ovs (T. Beaumont 87 n.o, N. Sciver 74 n.o.). England Women won by 8 wickets.
