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India had the perfect beginning to their English summer, going 1-0 up against England in the three-match Vitality IT20 series with a 38-run win at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground in Chelmsford, Essex. A glorious international return for Yastika Bhatia with the bat, combined with a tight bowling and fielding performance, gave India the ideal start to their road to the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which starts in 14 days.
England’s stand-in skipper Charlie Dean won the toss and put India into bat first. India were also missing captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was rested, with Smriti Mandhana taking over the duties for the first T20I. Mandhana, however, had a horror start, dismissed on the very first delivery of the series by Lauren Bell after driving the ball straight to Dean. Bell then removed the hero of D.Y. Patil, Shafali Verma, who mistimed a slog towards Alice Capsey at mid-on.
England frustratingly lost that momentum in the very next over, as a distracted Issy Wong conceded 27 runs. India capitalized on the costly over and charged through the powerplay. Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues then took control of the innings in a commanding third-wicket stand.
Bhatia was playing her first international match in 20 months after an extended spell out with injury. However, she showed no signs of rust with the bat, bringing up her maiden T20I half-century with some excellent play through the off side. After a slow start, Rodrigues also settled in well, and India looked set for a mammoth total.
England’s breakthrough came in the 14th over when Bhatia was left stranded and run out for 54 by debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman. Later in the over, Dean turned the tide further by dismissing Rodrigues for 69 with a caught-and-bowled. The wickets continued to tumble, with Richa Ghosh departing next after Wong took a phenomenal diving catch to hand Corteen-Coleman her maiden T20I wicket.
Wong then bowled Bharthi Fulmali with a slower delivery, and India lost four wickets for just 15 runs in 17 balls. Veteran all-rounder Deepthi Sharma revived the innings alongside Arundhati Reddy before being caught herself in the final over, helping India reach 188/7.
Sophia Dunkley looked dangerous early in the chase, but Kranti Gaud struck quickly, forcing her to play towards Verma at mid-off to give India an early wicket. Gaud’s pace paid off again when she dismissed Capsey, drawing an outside edge through to Ghosh behind the stumps.
Amy Jones and icon Heather Knight steadied the innings with a one-sided partnership, with Jones doing most of the scoring and completing her sixth T20I half-century.
Knight’s sluggish innings ended on 22 when Shree Charani induced a catch from Rodrigues at deep midwicket to break the partnership. Deep midwicket became even more dreaded for England when Jones departed for 67, playing Nandini Sharma’s slower ball straight to Verma in the deep, handing Nandini a maiden international wicket on debut in Indian blue. Sharma struck again on the very next ball, dismissing Gibson in identical fashion, with Verma taking her third catch of the game.
The home side had truly begun to crumble, with Freya Kemp caught behind off Deepthi’s bowling. Nandini’s dream debut continued with a third wicket, this time bowling Wong and effectively ending England’s hopes. A mix-up between Dean and Sophie Ecclestone, which resulted in the latter being run out, perfectly summed up England’s performance as they finished on 150/8, handing India a 38-run victory.
What We Learned
Indian fielding remains tenacious – Even if the batting and bowling fail, India can always rely on their fielding. It has been a core focus over the past couple of years, and it showed perfectly in this opening game of the English tour. Stunning stops, clever positioning, and safe hands put pressure on England throughout the chase.
In contrast, England committed several fielding blunders, the kind of small moments that can completely shift a T20 game. India once again proved the old adage true: catches win matches.
A Knight’s farewell? – Heather Knight is an icon of the women’s game. There is no debate about that. With this fixture, the 35-year-old became England Women’s all-time most-capped player across all formats. In her 310 appearances, she has shattered numerous records, won a World Cup, and terrorized teams around the world.
However, her 24-ball innings of just 22 runs in this opener raises concerns that her best days may be behind her.
Knight, though, has stressed that she is not thinking about retirement anytime soon. Still, with batters such as Maia Bouchier and Tammy Beaumont sidelined, the end may at least be approaching after the T20 World Cup.
What They Said
England captain Charlie Dean: “Obviously, not having Nat (Sciver-Brunt) in our batting line-up and in our team is a loss. We’re just trying to work out where the other girls fit into that. They can all do the job at hand, and that is something that we 100% believe as well.”
Yastika Bhatia, India: “I felt really special and I am very grateful. I have been coming back after a long time and the team has welcomed me very nicely and it has been very good to be back and like in the injury time it’s not easy but there were people backing me and supporting me.”
“The Centre of Excellence in Bangalore, they took care of me very well and the physios trainers I am very thankful to them and even the surgeons who did my surgery.”
India will face England next in the second Vitality IT20 at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol on Saturday, May 30, at 2:30 p.m. BST (9:30 a.m. EST; 7:00 p.m. IST).
