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England v India: first women’s T20 cricket international – live
India beat England by 38 runs: first women’s T20 cricket international – as it happened
England were comfortably beaten in Chelmsford after producing an erratic performance with bat and ball
Updated 28 May 2026Rob SmythThu 28 May 2026 17.16 EDTFirst published on Thu 28 May 2026 12.37 EDTShareKey events- 28 May 2026Smriti Mandhana's verdict
- 28 May 2026WICKET! England 144-8 (Ecclestone run out 13)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! England 129-7 (Wong b N Sharma 4)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! England 124-6 (Kemp c Ghosh b D Sharma 8)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! England 120-5 (Gibson c Varma b N Sharma 0)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! England 120-4 (Jones c Verma b N Sharma 67)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! England 101-3 (Knight c Rodrigues b Charani 22)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! England 37-2 (Capsey c Ghosh b Gaud 6)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! England 18-1 (Dunkley c Verma b Gaud 16)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! India 183-7 (D Sharma c Dean b Bell 22)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! India 148-6 (Fulmali b Wong 6)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! India 148-5 (Ghosh c Wong b Corteen-Coleman 4)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! India 137-4 (Rodrigues ct and b Dean 69)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! India 133-3 (Bhatia run out 54)
- 28 May 2026Wong's first over goes for 27
- 28 May 2026WICKET! India 7-2 (Verma c Capsey b Bell 2)
- 28 May 2026WICKET! India 0-1 (Mandhana c Dean b Bell 0)
- 28 May 2026Charlie Dean's reaction
- 28 May 2026India win by 38 runs
- 28 May 2026England need 189 to win
- 28 May 2026Team news
- 28 May 2026England win the toss and bowl
- India women's cricket team
That’s all for tonight. Thanks for your company – we’ll be back for the second game in Bristol on Saturday. Goodnight!
28 May 202617.16 EDTRaf Nicholson’s report:
Smriti Mandhana's verdict
double quotation markIt wasn’t the ideal start, but credit to Yastika to come back in after eight months and play the way she did. She took the game away in the Powerplay. And then of course Jemi doing Jemi things – she batted brilliantly.
I thought we could maybe have got 10 more runs but our fielding and bowling was really up to the mark. All the bowlers were brilliant in their execution. They were really calm under pressure.
[Nandni Sharma] is just brilliant. She comes with a lot of fire and I was really excited to see her bowl today.
28 May 202616.51 EDTCharlie Dean's reaction
double quotation markJemi and Yastika put on a brilliant partnership and we couldn’t break it early enough. It’s disappointing – we felt were in a good position with the bat at the halfway stage, but we fell away at the end.
There are elements of real positivity, especially in the field, but it’s disappointing to not get over the line. We’re really great when we’re on top; it’s just that shift and how to swing momentum back round to us.
Tilly was brilliant. I love the way she goes about it and how calm she is.
28 May 202616.43 EDTThe player of the match is the marvellous Jemimah Rodrigues
double quotation markA lot of credit goes to Yastika [Bhatia]. We assessed conditions and I think the partnership was crucial. T20 is all about momentum and we knew one partnership would change the game.
My game is more about picking gaps, being smart and playing on the bowler’s mind.
I really enjoy fielding. Today it felt like a yo-yo session! But it was fun, I enjoyed it.
28 May 202616.41 EDTIndia win by 38 runs
20th over: England 150-8 (Dean 11, Bell 1) A thumping victory for India in Chelmsford, and plenty for England to think about. There were some positives, particularly the batting of Amy Jones and the bowling of Tilly Corteen-Coleman, but it was an erratic performance overall and England struggled to cope when India put them under severe pressure.
28 May 202616.37 EDTWICKET! England 144-8 (Ecclestone run out 13)
A comedy run-out, why not. Dean and Ecclestone end up at the same end after a mix-up, and the non-striker Ecclestone is the one to go. She stomps off with a face like the apocalypse.
28 May 202616.33 EDT19th over: England 142-7 (Dean 5, Ecclestone 12) Shree Charani, excellent as always, finishes her spell with figures of 4-0-25-1.
28 May 202616.31 EDT18th over: England 134-7 (Dean 4, Ecclestone 5) It’s been a pretty high-scoring game – 322 runs and counting – yet only five batters have reached double figures.
In other, more important news, Nandni Sharma ends a memorable debut with figures of 4-0-34-3.
28 May 202616.28 EDTWICKET! England 129-7 (Wong b N Sharma 4)
Charlie Dean keeps out the hat-trick delivery – but Nandni gets another wicket soon after with a delicious slower ball that cleans up Issy Wong. India have taken four wickets for nine runs in 11 balls.
17th over: England 128-6 (Dean 3, Wong 4) Issy Wong hits her first ball for four. And now it’s time for Nandni Sharma’s hat-trick ball.
28 May 202616.25 EDTWICKET! England 124-6 (Kemp c Ghosh b D Sharma 8)
England are falling in a heap. Freya Kemp tries to cut a very wide ball from Deepti Sharma and gets a thin edge that is smartly taken by Ghosh up to the stumps.
28 May 202616.22 EDT16th over: England 120-5 (Kemp 7, Dean 0) That was the last ball of the over, so Sharma will be on a hat-trick when she returns.
28 May 202616.21 EDTWICKET! England 120-5 (Gibson c Varma b N Sharma 0)
The debutant Nandni Sharma is on a hat-trick! Dani Gibson lifted a slower ball high into the leg side and was excellently caught on the run by Verma.
28 May 202616.20 EDTWICKET! England 120-4 (Jones c Verma b N Sharma 67)
Game over. Jones slog-sweeps a slower ball from Nandni Sharma to deep midwicket, where Shafali Verma takes the catch with glee. Jones played excellently to make 67 from 48 balls but there wasn’t enough support and the required rate became prohibitive.
28 May 202616.15 EDT15th over: England 115-3 (Jones 66, Kemp 3) There have been some positives for England, whatever the result, including this innings from Amy Jones. She hits Deepti for two fours at the start of the over – but there are no boundaries and the required rate creeps up to 14.80.
28 May 202616.11 EDT14th over: England 103-3 (Jones 56, Kemp 1) Terrific stuff from India, who have restricted England to only three runs from each of the last three overs. The result is that England need 86 from 36 balls, and Slim has made a run for the last train.
28 May 202616.09 EDTWICKET! England 101-3 (Knight c Rodrigues b Charani 22)
Knight slog-sweeps Charani straight to deep midwicket, where the ultra-reliable Rodrigues takes a comfortable catch. That was a frustrating innings from Knight, and a strike-rate of 92 won’t satisfy those who think she scores too slowly for a modern T20 team.
28 May 202616.07 EDT13th over: England 100-2 (Jones 54, Knight 22) Reddy turns the screw with another excellent, boundaryless over. England have scored only six from the last two overs, and Knight (22 from 23 balls) is really struggling to find the boundary.
28 May 202616.03 EDT12th over: England 97-2 (Jones 52, Knight 21) Kranti Gaud ends another excellent spell – she loves bowling in England – with figures of 4-0-24-2. The required rate is up to 11.5 per over.
28 May 202616.02 EDT11th over: England 94-2 (Jones 51, Knight 19) Jones clips Deepti for a single to bring up a classy fifty from 32 balls. Knight thumps the next ball whence it came for a much needed boundary. England are still in the game, just about: they need 95 from 54 balls.
28 May 202615.55 EDT10th over: England 85-2 (Jones 48, Knight 13) Charani strengthens India’s position with a boundaryless over that costs only six. There has been a lot of talk about Heather Knight’s strike rate; it’s currently 87, but I guess we should defer judgement until the end of the innings.
28 May 202615.51 EDT9th over: England 79-2 (Jones 46, Knight 9) Deepti Sharma jogs in to bowl her first delivery, then stops in her delivery stride and looks at the non-striker Amy Jones. Crikey, was that really four years ago?
When Jones gets on strike, she reverse-pulls and sweeps successive boundaries. Knight then has to dive to make her ground after coming back for a couple.
Jones has 46 from 28 balls, Knight 9 from 11.
28 May 202615.47 EDT8th over: England 66-2 (Jones 35, Knight 7) Jones times Charani stylishly through extra cover for her fifth boundary. Four singles make it a decent enough over for both teams.
England need 123 from 72 balls.
28 May 202615.44 EDT7th over: England 58-2 (Jones 29, Knight 5) England go after the debutant Nandni, with Jones hitting two boundaries and Knight one in an over that goes for 15. Now it’s time for some spin from the left-armer Shree Charani.
28 May 202615.39 EDT6th over: England 43-2 (Jones 18, Knight 1) That second wicket has put the brakes on England, who have scored only six from the last two overs.
In case you missed the start of the game, Heather Knight is now England’s most capped women’s cricketer. This is her 310th appearance, one more than Charlotte Edwards.
28 May 202615.35 EDT5th over: England 39-2 (Jones 15, Knight 1) A fabulous inswinger from Reddy beats Jones on the inside and bounces just over the stumps. Just two runs from the over.
Since you asked, at the same stage India were 66 for 2.
28 May 202615.32 EDT4th over: England 37-2 (Jones 14, Knight 0) That was the last ball of an over that started well for England when Capsey and Jones both crashed cut shots to the fence.
28 May 202615.31 EDTWICKET! England 37-2 (Capsey c Ghosh b Gaud 6)
Alice Capsey chases a stinker of a delivery from Gaud and gets a top edge through to Richa Ghosh. It was short and wide, almost too wide, and Capsey was straining just to reach the ball.
28 May 202615.26 EDT3rd over: England 27-1 (Capsey 1, Jones 9) The debutant Nandni Sharma, who was called up after an excellent performance in the WPL, comes into the attack. The non-striker Capsey is almost run out when a throw from mid-on misses the stumps; it would have been seriously close with a direct hit.
After taking only two runs from the first four balls, Jones belts a boundary straight down the ground. Nandni stuck out a hand but didn’t get a touch; it would have been a miraculous catch.
28 May 202615.22 EDT2nd over: England 19-1 (Capsey 1, Jones 1) Amy Jones is the new batter.
28 May 202615.21 EDTWICKET! England 18-1 (Dunkley c Verma b Gaud 16)
Dunkley launches Kranti Gaud back over her head for six, but that’s as good as it gets. Two balls later she clunks a cross-bat stroke towards mid-off and is nicely caught on the run by Verma. That’s another frustrating cameo from Dunkley, 16 from 9 balls.
28 May 202615.17 EDT1st over: England 11-0 (Dunkley 10, Capsey 0) The England openers, Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey, are in the strange position of knowing one of them will probably miss out at the start of the World Cup. Watch the running!
There are no tight singles in the first over, just two boundaries for Dunkley – an inside-edge and a meaty cut – and a safe two on the leg side.
28 May 202615.13 EDTThe players are back on the field, and Arundhati Reddy has the ball.
28 May 202615.03 EDTEngland need 189 to win
20th over: India 188-7 (Reddy 9, Gaud 1) A single off the last ball, so Lauren Bell ends with figures of 4-0-34-3. Her two-wicket opening over seems a long time ago, thanks mainly to a blistering counter-attack from Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues. India should have enough runs.
28 May 202615.01 EDTWICKET! India 183-7 (D Sharma c Dean b Bell 22)
Deepti Sharma pulls a slower ball to deep midwicket to end a handy cameo of 22 from 13 balls. One delivery remaining.
19th over: India 178-6 (D Sharma 17, Reddy 5) A very costly penultimate over for England, with Dani Gibson being hit for 17. It could have been even worse – Deepti Sharma hit the first two balls for four, then Gibson sprayed five wides down the leg side. Gibson did well to concede only a single from the last four deliveries, but that still feels like a big moment. It’s not only in a runchase that the 19th over can be pivotal.
Talking of 19, that’s how many runs England have conceded in wides tonight. Where’s Paul Hardcastle when you need him, or Rory Bremner for that matter.
28 May 202614.51 EDT18th over: India 161-6 (D Sharma 7, Reddy 3) Deepti Sharma sweeps her old friend Charlie Dean expertly for four. But that’s the only boundary from another pretty good over for England, and dean finishes with superb figures of 4-0-26-1.
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