Sophie Ecclestone impressed on her return from injuryFirst T20 international, Wankhede Stadium, MumbaiEngland 197-6 (20 overs): Sciver-Brunt 77 (53), Wyatt 75 (47); Singh Thakur 3-27India 159-6 (20 overs): Verma 52 (42); Ecclestone 3-15England won by 38 runsScorecard
England produced a convincing performance to beat India by 38 runs in the opening game of their T20 series.
The tourists slipped to 2-2 in the first over but Nat Sciver-Brunt made 77 and Danni Wyatt 75 in a stand of 138.
Amy Jones then smashed 23 off nine balls as England posted 197-6 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
England always had India behind the run-rate, restricting them to 159-6, with Sophie Ecclestone taking 3-15 on her return from a dislocated shoulder.
The second game in the three-match series takes place at the same ground on Saturday from 13:30 GMT.
Familiar names deliver for England
After struggling against Australia’s and Sri Lanka’s spinners in the summer, England prepared for this series by holding a spin camp in Mumbai and a trip to Oman.
It was pace that troubled them early on though, with Renuka Singh Thakur bowling Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey in successive balls in the first over.
Sciver-Brunt and Wyatt started the rebuild in cautious fashion but they ran hard between the wickets and punished the bad balls.
The frequency of those poor deliveries increased as the innings progressed, with the pair superbly using their feet to put the bowlers off their line and lengths, allowing them to drive, pull and sweep at will.
Wyatt was stumped in the 16th over, and Sciver-Brunt was brilliantly caught behind in the penultimate over, but Jones hit three successive boundaries in the final over, before being caught off the last ball.
India needed to equal their record T20 total to win, but Sciver-Brunt bowled Smriti Mandhana in the first over, with the left-hander, who commanded the biggest fee at last year’s Women’s Premier League auction, bowled through the gate attempting a leg-side hoick.
England built pressure, with Jemimah Rodrigues dismissed by Freya Kemp, her first international wicket for more than a year after a back stress fracture.
They then turned to their spinners with Ecclestone, playing in her first game since August, bowling Harmanpreet Kaur, before returning to dismiss Shafali Verma and Kanika Ahuja.
This was an encouraging start for England, on a tour where they will find out plenty about their squad in similar conditions to those that they will face in the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next September.
‘How England will have wanted to start’ – reaction
England opener Danni Wyatt, who was playing her 150th T20 international, on TNT Sports: “I really enjoyed it out there. The pitch was a little tricky. Nat [Sciver-Brunt] is such a calm person to bat with. We ran really well.
“There was a bit of movement up top. Renuka [Singh Thakur] is a world class bowler. But I said to Nat it wouldn’t swing for long so just get through that and build a big partnership. Nat batted beautifully and it was good fun out there with her.
“Everyone bowled exceptionally well and it was great to get out there.”
Former England spinner Alex Hartley on TNT Sports: “That’s how England will have wanted to start the series. We were talking about how they may struggle against India’s spinners as they did in the past against Australia and Sri Lanka. It has been a real target for England to try and get better and it worked.
“India weren’t as good as they could have been but England were absolutely outstanding with the bat.”
BBC Test Match Special commentator Henry Moeran: “A professional performance from England. Depth in the batting and then clear plans with the ball. You can’t ask for much more than that to start a series.”