ENG-W v IND-W, 1st T20I: Smriti century, Charani four-fer helps India to dominate 97-run win against England
Smriti Mandhana’s imperious maiden T20 International hundred set up India’s dominant 97-run win over England in the first T20I in Nottingham on Saturday.
The visitor now leads the five-match T20I series 1-0.
After a struggling Shafali Verma fell early, Smriti(112, 62 balls) and Harleen Deol (43, 23 balls) added 94 runs for the second wicket to help India amass 210 for five after being asked to bat.
Smriti, leading the team in the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur — who missed out due to a head injury sustained during the warm-up games — marched into the record books with a stylish innings. She became the first Indian woman to score a century in all three formats along the way.
Skipper Nat Sciver Brunt (66, 42 balls) waged a lone battle for England, who were limited to 113 all out in 14.5 overs courtesy a disciplined bowling effort from India.
The visitor, which went with a spin-heavy attack, reaped the benefits of its call, with eight English wickets falling to the quartet.
For India, debutant left-arm spinner Shree Charani (4/12) was the most successful bowler, as there was nothing much left in England’s innings after they lost half of the line-up inside the first 10 overs for a sub-100 score.
