India beat England by seven wickets at Hove to take 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series; Smriti Mandhana hit 91 as the tourists chased down 228 in 44.1 overs; Jhulan Goswami (1-20) was the pick of the India bowlers; England's Alice Davidson-Richards hit her maiden ODI fifty
Monday 19 September 2022 06:16, UK
Smriti Mandhana made a classy 91 as India cruised to a seven-wicket win over England in the first one-day international at Hove.
England, under stand-in captain Amy Jones, won the T20 international series 2-1 but a clinical performance saw the tourists triumph in the first of three 50-over matches.
Early wickets from Jhulan Goswami (1-20) and Meghna Singh (1-42) put the home side under early pressure and despite Alice Davidson-Richards' (50no) maiden ODI fifty, England posted an under-par 227-7.
India made light work of the chase with Mandhana putting on 96 with Yastika Bhatia (50 from 47 balls) and then 99 with captain Harmanpreet Kaur (74no) to help her side get over the line with 35 balls to spare.
The tone for the match was set early with a miserly opening spell from 39-year-old Goswami, who is set to retire after the third ODI at Lord's on Saturday, in which she trapped Tammy Beaumont (7) lbw after Meghna had removed Emma Lamb (12) with a short ball.
England ended the powerplay 26-2 but although India were making it tough to score, Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey, on debut, managed to rebuild with a stand of 43.
The pair were starting to find some rhythm with 18-year-old Capsey (19) showing flashes of why she is considered such an exciting talent with some eye-catching shots.
However, she fell to Sneh Rana after a fantastic diving catch from Kaur, who took it low down at mid-wicket, and England's momentum was halted.
Dunkley (29) survived two lbw reviews before chipping Harleen Deol tamely to cover and when Jones was bowled by a Rajeshwari Gayakwad delivery that stayed low, the hosts were in trouble at 94-5.
Danni Wyatt was doing her best to keep the innings together and was scoring more freely than most of her team-mates as the India spinners took hold, but was tempted into a sweep shot by Deepti Sharma and struggled to hide her frustration as the ball skidded under her bat to hit leg stump.
From 128-6, Davidson-Richards and Sophie Ecclestone put on 50 for the seventh wicket with the former playing a measured knock while the latter was quick to punish any loose deliveries.
Sharma broke the stand with another ball that stayed very low to trap Ecclestone (31) lbw and although Davidson-Richards - who reached her half-century in the last over - and Charlie Dean (24no from 21) adding an unbroken stand of 49 to end the innings, it was India on top at the halfway stage.
Kate Cross dismissed Shafali Verma in the second over of the India chase - Dean taking a flying catch at mid-wicket - to give England early hope of defending such a modest total but those hopes soon faded as Mandhana and Yastika found their stride.
With the home side unable to replicate India's discipline in the early stages and captain Jones choosing to hold back star bowler Ecclestone, the visitors quickly worked themselves into a position of dominance that they would maintain throughout the innings.
Yastika had a couple of moments of good fortune with a glove behind down leg off Issy Wong that Jones could only turn around the post and then a pair of top-edged pulls off Davidson-Richards that did not go to hand.
However, for the most part, the India No 3 was in good touch as she took the attack to the England bowlers while Mandhana was batting with all the elegance and conviction that we have come to expect of such a fine player.
The two left-handers seemed to have England exactly where they wanted them for a time before Yastika became a little fidgety and, two balls after bringing up a 45-ball half-century, charged Dean (1-45) and was bowled through the gate.
Kaur came in and had the luxury of being able to play herself in while Mandhana ticked over at the other end, easing to her 24th ODI fifty.
The experienced India pair managed the chase comfortably for the next 19 overs but with just 30 needed for victory and a Mandhana century seeming a formality, the left-hander skied a slower ball from Cross and was caught at mid-on, nine runs short of a sixth ODI ton.
With Mandhana gone, England were able to put the squeeze on India. That did not stop Kaur getting to her 17th ODI half-century from 80 balls - a composed knock from the skipper.
Kaur made sure it never got jittery for her side, thumping boundaries off Ecclestone and Davidson-Richards to ease the nerves and sealed the win with a six off Davidson-Richards in the 45th over.
England captain Amy Jones: "Disappointing. We didn't have enough runs, that's the main problem. Alice batted brilliantly through the middle and at the end to give us a chance. But we needed a few wickets in the powerplay, only got the one and that's where we fell short.
"We thought it was a trickier wicket but India bowled well and put us under pressure. Then losing regular wickets, it was hard to get going until we got that partnership with Alice and Soph. Regular wickets cost us."
Player of the match, India batter Smriti Mandhana: "I would have enjoyed it more if I'd been not out for the team but I'm glad we could put on a show for the India fans.
"The one-day format is a very natural game for me because I like to go out there and time the ball. It's really important to give a good start and regardless of the format, it's great to score runs for India."
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur: "We are very happy with the win today, it was an important game for us. It was a very crucial toss to win and once we got that momentum we wanted to keep it.
"It was a great partnership [with the new ball] between Jhulan and Meghna Singh. Those breakthroughs were really important so credit goes to all the bowlers."
Former England bowler Steven Finn: "England will look back at it and think that they didn't build enough big partnerships. They got going and started to threaten to build a partnership that might take them to a big total but never managed that. India were outstanding with the ball, both their plans and the way they executed them.
"Then on the reverse side, India had great impetus at the top of the order with Bhatia and the two experienced campaigners of Mandhana and Hamranpreet. They shared a great partnership which broke the back of the chase."
Watch the second ODI between England and India from 12.30pm, Wednesday on Sky Sports Cricket. Play begins at 1pm.
