Twitter Reactions: Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur shine as India plummet England in series opener

The Indian team put behind the loss of the T20I series by taking a 1-0 lead in the ODI series in a dominant performance.

By Chaitanya Prakash

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Smriti Mandhana
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Smriti Mandhana. (Photo Source: Twitter)

India hammered England in the first ODI at the County Ground to draw first blood in the three-match ODI series. The visitors were dominant throughout and ran out comfortable victors by seven wickets in the end. Batting ace Smriti Mandhana registered a match-winning 91 to help India take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Chasing a below-par total, the visitors were rocked early after the dismissal of opener Shafali Verma in the second over of the innings. England were prepared for an onslaught from the in-form Mandhana, but it was the young wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia who put the English bowlers on the backfoot with her nonchalance.

The duo added a brisk 96-run stand for the second wicket before Bhatia was dismissed for a well-compiled half-century in the 18th over. England were afforded a sniff, but that was all they got as Mandhana continued on her merry way, stitching a match-winning partnership with Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

The hosts looked clueless against the Indian batters who were never troubled in their pursuit of the target. Mandhana looked a cut above the rest with her effortless and eye-pleasing stroke-making. She fell just nine runs short of what would have been a magnificent century as India cruised home with seven wickets to spare, thanks to a captain's knock from Harmanpreet as well, who sealed the victory with an emphatic six.

Wyatt, Richards take England to respectable total

Earlier in the match, Harmanpreet Kaur called it right at the coin toss and elected to field on a decent batting surface. England were looking to get off to a solid start following their triumph in the T20I series, but the Indian seamers, led by veteran Jhulan Goswami, threw a spanner in those plans, dismissing the English openers inside the powerplay.

Alice Capsey, who was making her debut in the 50-over format, steadied the ship along with Sophia Dunkley, but both batters failed to capitalize on their respective starts and fell in quick succession. India were in the ascendency after reducing the hosts for 94/5, only for a defiant Danielle Wyatt, who kept the scoreboard ticking.

Wyatt's dismissal in the 34th over was a huge dent in England's hopes of breaching the 250-mark, but a riposte from the lower-order batters saw the team reach a respectable total of 227 runs at the end of the 50 overs. Davidson-Richards notched up her maiden fifty in the format to take England to a fighting total. Jhulan Goswami was exceptional with the ball, returning with 1/20 in ten overs, while Deepti Sharma was the most successful Indian bowler with figures of 2/33.

Here;s how Twitter reacted:

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ENG W v IND W 2022India WomenEngland WomenSmriti MandhanaYastika Bhatia