Smriti Mandhana, India vs England 2019
Credits - Getty

After the debacle in the ODI series, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s women team have delivered brilliantly in the first game of the T20I series. Heather Knight-led side is beaten Smriti Mandhana-led Indian team by 41 runs in the game, which was played at Baraspara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Monday.

2nd Innings:

After the flop show with the ball in the first Innings, Indian women Team started things pretty poorly in the chase of 161. The regular opener Smriti Mandhana and the debutant Harleen Deol failed to give a good start for the team, which dented the Indian team’s chances to chase the total.

Further, the worries stretched for India when Jemimah Rodrigues and Mithali Raj scored single-digit scores for the team. With Harmanpreet Kaur being out from the team, India went for Veda Krishnamurthy, who scored runs but not at a great strike rate.

India vs England 2019, Smriti Mandhana
England (Credits – Getty)

Though Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey and Arundathi Reddy played well, with the target being so high, there effort just helped in decreasing the margin of loss. For England, Brunt and Linsey Smith are the wicket-taker, who picked 2 wickets each to help their side win by 41 runs.

1st Innings:

After winning the toss, the Indian team asked England to bat first. Tammy Beaumont and Danielle Wyatt started things cautiously by scoring a run-a-ball. They added 89 runs for the first wicket before Wyatt walking back for 35 runs.

India vs England 2019: England Women Draw First Blood Of The T20I Series Against Smriti Mandhana-Led Indian Side
Smriti Mandhana (Credits: Getty)

Natalie Sciver failed to carry on her form, who walked back for 4 runs. However, then came the perfect cameo from the skipper Heather Knight, who scored 40 runs off 20 balls to boost the total. In between, Beaumont scored 67 runs to push tally to 160 runs on the board.

Key players performance:

In batting, Beaumont and Heather Knight’s knocks were special for England. The duo played as per the demand of the situation of the game to make things fall in place for the team. With the ball, Linsey Smith has been the star. She rattled the defence of Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues to put England at the top.

Turning Point of the match:

The knock played by Heather Knight was the turning point of the match. Her quick-fire 40 runs off 20 balls changed things dramatically in the game. Knight’s cameo with the bat pushed England’s total to 160 from what it looked like to be in the range of 135-150.

Brief Scores:

India vs England 2019: England Women Draw First Blood Of The T20I Series Against Smriti Mandhana-Led Indian Side
PC – Screenshot

2nd Innings:

India vs England 2019: England Women Draw First Blood Of The T20I Series Against Smriti Mandhana-Led Indian Side
PC – Screenshot

Now, both the sides will meet once again in the second T20I game at the very same stadium on March 7th.

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