England produced a strong all-round show with bat and ball to trounce India by nine wickets in the first women's T20I of the three-match series, at Seat Unique Riverside, in Chester-le-Street, England, on Saturday.
Set a target of 133 for victory, after being restricted to 132 for 7, the home side capitalised on some sloppy fielding by the visitors to overhaul the target in just 13 overs.
Opener Sophia Dunkley led the way, surviving a couple of 'lives', with an unbeaten 61 after leg-spinner Sarah Glenn took a four wickets for 23 runs to check India's batters.
England had some luck on their side in the chase as Dunkely survived a caught behind shout early thanks to a no-ball from Renuka Singh.
The 24-year-old settled down and hit 8 fours and a six during her 44-ball stay at the wicket to steer England home comfortably.
Alice Capsey gave Dunkley good company after the dismissal of Danni Wyatt for 20 off 16 balls, finishing unbeaten on 32 runs off 20 balls, which included 3 fours and 2 two sixes.
Earlier, India did well in the powerplay, losing only Smriti Mandhana for 41 runs. But once Mandhana was out for 23 off 20 balls, inclusive of 4 fours, wickets fell at regular intervals and they were reduced to 55 for 3 after Shefali Verma (14) and Dayalan Hemalatha (10) were dismissed by Glenn.
India's fourth-wicket pair of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (20) and Richa Ghose (16) steadied the innings a bit once Ghosh was out miscuing a delivery from Freya Davies to long-on, and Harmanpreet was bowled by Glenn, England had done enough.
At the end Deepti Sharma’s 29 runs off 24 balls gave India a respectable total.
