India women suffered their fourth consecutive loss in ODI cricket as they went down to England by eight wickets in the first ODI in Bristol on Sunday.
After losing the home series to South Africa 1-4 in March, Mithali Raj & Co were looking to return to winning ways but they were plagued by the same problems. An inept batting performance was once again to blame as they only managed a paltry score of 201 for 8 from 50 overs.
In reply, the hosts were ruthlessly efficient, chasing down the target with 91 balls to spare. Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver led the run chase for England with unbeaten knocks of 87 and 74 respectively.
Their efforts completely overshadowed Mithali’s 72 off 108 balls, a day after she completed 22 years in international cricket. The 38-year-old could have scored quicker, but she was hampered by regular fall of wickets.
Debutant Shafali Verma started the Indian innings brightly with three quick boundaries before departing for 15. Smriti Mandhana followed Shafali back to the dressing room shortly after as the hosts gained control. It was a hard grind from thereon.
Brief scores: India 201/8 in 50 ovs (Mithali 72; Sophie 3/40) lost to England 202/2 in 34.5 ovs (Tammy 87 n.o, Nat 74 n.o) by 8 wickets.