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The England Women's team registered a dominant 38-run win against India in the first T20I in the three-match series. For the Lionesses, Nat Sciver-Brunt starred with an all-round performance as she helped England post the massive 196-run total and then picked up Smriti Mandhana's wicket with the ball. The victory also comes just days after the England A team clinched the three-game series against India A.
After losing the toss, England women were invited to bat and were reduced to 2-2 at the end of the first over. Rescuing the Lionesses, opener Danielle Wyatt and Nat Sciver-Brunt posted a massive 138-run partnership. Wyatt perished after scoring 75 while Renuka Singh, after picking two wickets in the opening over, dismissed Sciver-Brunt at 77 in 53 balls with 13 boundaries.
Then towards the end of the English innings, Amy Jones' cameo of 23 runs in nine balls powered them to a 196 total. In the second innings, Women in Blue had a rather decent start with the openers posting 20 runs in 2.2 overs before Sciver-Brunt cleaned up Mandhana.
The trend continued throughout the innings, as the Indian batters lost wickets at regular intervals with England not allowing any partnerships. With the likes of Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh departing, the Women in Blue were nearly done dusted.
Sophie Ecclestone was the star with the ball as she picked up three wickets in his four overs while giving away just 15 runs. Further, as the innings came to an end, England managed to restrict India to 159 and seal the game with a 38-run margin.
