Chelmsford, May 29 -- The Indian women's cricket team beat England by 38 runs in the opening match of the T20 2026 series at County Ground.
Jemimah Rodrigues smashed 69 off 40 balls while Yastika Bhatia marked her return with a fluent 40-ball 54 as India recovered from early setbacks to post 188/7.
Lauren Bell was England's standout bowler with figures of 3/34. In the chase, England managed only 150/8 despitea fighting 67 off 48 by Amy Jones while Nandani Sharma, on her T20I debut, was the pick of the bowlers for India, scalping 3/34 in her four overs.
Stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana, leading the Indian cricket team in the absence of the rested Harmanpreet Kaur, was asked to bat first to endure a nightmare start. Mandhana fell off the v...