England established their dominance over the Women in Blue, as stellar performances from Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone powered the Lionesses to a comfortable 38-run win over the Indian women in the first T20I at Wankhede.
India got off to a flying start in the first over itself, credit to Renuka Singh’s splendid bowling. The medium-pacer bamboozled the likes of England’s Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey in back-to-back deliveries, bowling them clean.
But then, in came theEngland’s talisman, the experienced and ever-so-reliable Nat Sciver-Brunt. And a stellar innings she delivered indeed.
England wrecked havoc over the Indian bowling line-up as both Sciver-Brunt and opener Danielle Wyatt, who lit up the Wankhede with one boundary after the other.
From 9/2 in 2 overs, to 89/2 in 10 overs, England took total control over the Indians as Wyatt attacked everything that was bowled her way.
India’s debutant Shreyanka Patil was brought into the attack to inspire change, but it made no difference to Wyatt who whacked it clean to the boundary, en route to her 13th T2OI fifty for the Lionesses.
Sciver-Brunt on the other end kept the pace as well, taking to the likes of Patil, Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma at will, and the batter duo notched up an effortless 100-un partnership in no time.
15 overs down and 140 runs up for England, India were in desperate need of a breakthrough. And Saika Ishaque finally provided the same, as a rattled Danielle Wyatt came forward to smack one over the top, but missed to get stumped, all to depart for a sensational 75 runs in just 47 balls.
The bleeding though did not stop for India, as Sciver-Brunt turned the pace up another notch, slamming fours at ease with the aid of a Amy Jones to help her as well.
It was a moment of bad decision making that finally got Sciver-Brunt, who went big for a wide ball and nicked one to Richa Ghosh who caught a blinder to dismiss the batter for 77 runs.
The damage was already done though and England posted a mammoth target of 198 runs for the Women in Blue to chase down.
The lights were on Smriti Mandhana, who has been dealing with a run of poor form recently. Unfortunately for India, it continued as Mandhana was dismissed by Sciver-Brunt in the third over for a mere 6 runs, as India tried to get off to a fiery start themselves to keep up with the required target.
Rodrigues fell quick too next, and it was the Indian skipper’s turn to establish some discipline and regain momentum.
And Harmanpreet Kaur did just that, as she put the pedal to the metal, and alongside opener Shefali Verma, kept the target at bay.
That was until Sophie Ecclestone came into the bowling attack.
The veteran Ecclestone who had just returned from shoulder surgery took no time to strike, as she instantly removed Kaur from the crease with the second ball of her first over.
And the fun did not stop there for Ecclestone or England, as shortly after, following a respectable stand from Richa Ghosh, Ecclestone struck again to get rid of the dangerous Shefali Verma, who left the crease with 52 runs of her own.
The left-arm spinner produced her best T20I spell against India with 3 for 15 from four overs.
It was merely a matter of running the time out after that, as India slumped to muster only 159 runs by the end of the 20 overs, handing over England the win.
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