India no match for superior England in 1st T20I series
Our Sports Reporter
Guwahati: Displaying all round performance England beat India by 41 runs in the first game of the 3-match Women T20I series and took 1-0 lead at the ACA stadium here today.
Replying England’s 160-4, India struggled from the early part of their innings and finally managed to score 119-6 in 20 overs. England no doubt bowled well but the match couldn’t be so one sided if some of Indian batsmen played reckless shots and got out cheaply.
Captain Smriti Mandhana is upset with the team’s performance. In the post match presentation she admitted that India gave away 10-15 extra runs at the end and also didn’t have a great start with the bat.
It was the debut match for Smiriti as captain of Indian team. Her opening partner Harleen Deol too made debut for India in Guwahati. However the match, witnessed nearly 10 thousand spectators, was not memorable one for either of them.
Chasing 161 runs to win India were only 22 when Harleen (8) returned into the pavilion giving a catch to wicketkeeper Beaumont. She was quickly followed by captain Mandhana (2) when the score was 23. On the same total Jemimah (2) lost her wicket and the middle order wilted because of severe pressure. Senior player Mithali Raj (7 off 11) too could not do much in the circumstances.
However little contribution from Veda Krishnamurthy (15), Deepti Sharma (22 not out), Arundhati Reddy (18) and Shikha Pandey (23 not out), who came into bat at number eight position, India finally managed to take their total beyond hundred.
Earlier England openers Tammy Beaumont and Danielle Wyatt gave a strong start to their team by adding 89 runs in 11.3 overs. Later skipper Heather Knight took just 20 balls to score 40 and guided England to 160-4 in their 20 overs. Beaumont, lone half century maker in the match, took 57 balls to add 62 runs with the help of nine boundaries.
Her opening partner Danielle Wyatt contributed 35 on the board. On the other hand skipper Heather Knight was in punishing mood today and she took only 20 balls to score 40 with the help of seven boundaries five of which came from five consecutive balls of Arundhati Reddy.
Beaumont and Knight added 68, the second highest partnership in the innings, in just six overs. Both of them got out as part of the late charge but their effort took England to a total that proved to be more than enough.
England captain Knight was all praise for her teammates. In post match presentation. She said, “The ball was coming on nicely here. Tammy was going well at the other end and I was too seeing the ball quite nicely. Delighted to contribute to the team win and also happy with the team’s performance,”
The next game of the series would be held at the same venue on Thursday.
Brief scores: England 160-4 (20 overs), T Beaumont 62, Knight 40, Wyatt 35. Radha Yadav 2-33, India 119-6 (20 overs), Deepti Sharma (22 not out), Shikha Pandey (23 not out), Brunt 2-21, Smith 2-22.
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