Bristol, June 27: Skipper Mithali Raj’s fighting half-century went in vain as England Women rode on Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver’s aggressive unbeaten fifties to beat a below-par India Women by eight wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series here on Sunday.
Mithali led from the front with a patient 72 to guide India Women to a modest 201 for eight after being put in to bat. Mithali held India’s innings together following two early dismissals.
But England Women cantered home with 91 balls to spare, thanks to opener Beaumont’s unbeaten 87 and Sciver’s 74 unbroken 119-run third-wicket partnership that came off just 19 overs.
England lost Lauren Windfield-Hill (16) early in their chase but Beaumont and skipper Heather Knight (18) shared 59 runs for the second wicket to get the hosts back on track. But Knight fell prey to a lovely delivery from left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht that turned just enough after pitching to beat the onrushing England skipper’s bat.
Beaumont continued her aggressive intent and brought up her fifty in 48 balls by sweeping Depti Sharma to the square-leg boundary.
The Indians had a glorious chance to get back into the match but Bisht dropped Sciver at short fine-leg in the 20th over off Harmanpreet Kaur’s opening over. The Indians lacked discipline in both fielding and bowling. (PTI)
