India Women defeated England Women in the first match of the T20I series in Manuka Oval, Canberra. Set a target of 148 runs to win, India Women achieved it in 19.3 overs with five wickets in hand. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was top-scorer for India with unbeaten 42 off just 34 balls. The right-hander smashed five fours and one six during his stay to help India get off to a winning start. ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020: Need to Handle Pressure Better This Time, Says Harmanpreet Kaur.

Apart from Harmanpreet, opening batter Shafali Verma chipped in with 30 off 25 balls; she struck four fours before being dismissed. India’s chase got off shaky start with Smriti Mandhana (15) losing her wicket in the fourth over. Shafali then added 37 runs for the second wicket with Jemimah Rodrigues (26). However, India lost both Shafali and Rodrigues (26) in quick succession.

Skipper Harmanpreet then took charge and added 25 runs with Veda Krishnamurthy (7) for the fourth wicket. After Krishnamurthy’s dismissal, India lost one more wicket in shape of Taniya Bhatia (11). Towards the end, Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma added unbeaten 28 runs to take India home.

Earlier, batting first, England Women posted 147 for seven in their allotted 20 overs. England captain Heather Knight scored 67 off just 44 balls to finish as side’s top-scorer. For India, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey and Deepti Sharma picked two wickets each. Radha Yadav chipped in with a wicket as well.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2020 12:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).