India Women Beat England By 38 Runs In 1st T20I At Chelmsford To Take 1-0 Lead

India women’s cricket team emphatically began their England tour with a clinical 38-run victory over the hosts in the first T20I at Chelmsford.

A complete team performance, featuring brilliant batting, disciplined bowling, and sharp fielding, helped India secure a convincing win and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

A confident outing from India in their build-up to the #T20WorldCup

Scorecard 📲 https://t.co/RRJtBvlmaG pic.twitter.com/wWBRoAgbdA

— ICC (@ICC) May 28, 2026

IND-W vs ENG-W: How It Happened

After being asked to bat first, India suffered an early setback when opener Smriti Mandhana departed cheaply. The innings soon gained momentum as Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues added crucial runs.

Yastika played a fluent knock of 54 from 40 deliveries, striking 9 fours

and a six at a strike rate above 130. Rodrigues then anchored the innings superbly with a magnificent 69 off 40 balls, including 10 boundaries and a six. A late cameo from Deepti Sharma in the death overs helped India finish strongly at 188/7 in their 20 overs.

England’s bowling was led by Lauren Bell, who claimed 3 wickets for 34 runs in her four-over spell. Tilly Corteen-Coleman also impressed with key breakthroughs and controlled bowling during the middle overs. Although England managed to pull things back slightly towards the end, they were left with a challenging target of 188.

In response, India’s Kranti Gaud struck early, removing Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey before Amy Jones took charge of the chase. Jones played a determined innings of 67 from 48 balls, hitting 7 fours to keep England in contention. Heather Knight contributed a valuable 21.

However, Nandni Sharma produced a match-winning spell, finishing with outstanding figures of 3 wickets for 23 runs. She dismissed key middle-order batters at crucial moments and triggered a collapse that turned the match decisively in India’s favour. Deepti Sharma added an important wicket, while pacer Kranti Gaud bowled with discipline at the death. Apart from Jones, the rest of the England batters struggled to score, and the hosts ultimately fell short by 38 runs.

(With inputs from Agencies)