A masterclass from the master of middle order jemima rodrigues operated India women’s cricket team Great win by 38 runs England Women In the opening match of the T20I series at Chelmsford on May 28, 2026. On a night when India’s key opening pair failed to trouble the scorers early on, a superb counter-attacking partnership and clinical defensive bowling ensured the visitors got off to a great start to their tour of England.
Jemimah Rodrigues and Yastika Bhatia took India to a strong score
India’s innings, which came to bat first, had a very bad start. England’s leading fast bowler lauren bell In the very first over, the top order of the visiting team was destroyed and both the captains were sent back to the pavilion. Smriti Mandhana and explosives Shafali Verma For 0 and 2 runs respectively. India’s score was 7/2 within the first six balls, with local fans anticipating a routine England collapse.
However, Yastika Bhatia And Rodriguez had other plans. Both absorbed the initial movement before launching a full attack on the English attack. Bhatia took charge during the powerplay and played a blistering inning of 54 runs in 40 balls, hitting nine fours and a six and completing his half-century in just 31 balls.
Once Bhatia settled down, Rodriguez went into overdrive. Awarded Player of the Match, Rodrigues played a brilliant and well-considered innings of 69 runs off just 40 balls, hitting eight fours and clearing the ropes once. Bhatia and Rodrigues put together an important partnership of 126 runs for the third wicket, keeping the run rate at over nine runs per over. late order contribution from Deepti Sharma (22 from 13) took India to a strong score of 188/7 in the allotted 20 overs, despite Bell being the best of the home bowlers with figures of 3/34.
India leads 1-0 in T20 series#ENGvsIND #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/1nMt80bZHT
– WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) 29 May 2026
Also read: ENG-W vs IND-W, T20I Series: Date, Match Time, Telecast and Live Streaming Details
India’s disciplined bowling stopped England in the opening match of the women’s T20 match.
Defending 188 runs, the Indian bowling unit displayed clinical performances of tight lines and variations, preventing the English batsmen from generating sustained pace. emerging fast bowler Kranti Gaur Provided early success by striking and dismissing at the beginning of the powerplay. Sophia Dunkley (16) and Alice Capsey (65) to restrict England to 37/2.
wicketkeeper-batsman amy jones Offered the only stiff resistance for England and bounced back with a courageous innings of 67 runs in 48 balls. with former captain heather knight (21), Jones threatened to piece together a dangerous recovery path. However, India’s spin-and-pace choke proved too tight. Sricharani Knight’s removal broke the partnership, leading to a batting collapse from which the hosts never recovered.
Nandani Sharma The destroyer was dominant in the death overs, turning the game firmly in India’s favour. He cleaned up the tail efficiently to finish with extremely impressive figures of 3/34 from his four overs. Arundhati Reddy Also played an important role while keeping the pressure high with an economical spell of 0/23. England’s target ultimately failed at 150/8 by the time 20 overs were over. With this comprehensive 38-run win, India has taken a crucial 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20 series.
This article was first published here WomenCricket.comA Cricket Times Company.
