Half-centuries by Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur helped India defeat England by seven wickets in the first One-Day International of the three-match series at the County Ground in Hove on Sunday.
Set a target of 228 runs, India finished with 232/3 in 44.2 overs as skipper Harmanpreet remained unbeaten on 74 off 94.
The foundation of the chase was set up by Mandhana and Bhatia after Shafali Verma was dismissed in the second over. The two left-hander’s picked boundaries consistently and kept the scoreboard ticking to put the hosts under pressure.
Once Bhatia was dismissed for a stroke-filled 50 off 47, Mandhana got together with Harmanpreet to add a 99-run partnership for the third wicket and put the visitors in firm control of the match.
Mandhana, who had scored an unbeaten 79 to help India earn their only win in the three-match T20I series earlier, continued her fine form and finished with 91 off 99 on Sunday.
Smriti Mandhana showed her full range as a batter to help India beat England in the first ODI 🌟
📹: Sony Sportspic.twitter.com/TzHQBxUfbD
— The Field (@thefield_in) September 18, 2022
Earlier, India’s new-ball bowlers did a tidy job as England struggled to score freely after being asked to bat first. Lower order contributions by Danielle Wyatt (43), Alice Davidson…
