ENG W vs IND W 1st ODI: Deepti stars in India's 4-wicket win over England

Business Standard

17-07-2025

In a thrilling ODI opener that saw twists, turns, tumbles—and a one-handed six straight from the Rishabh Pant playbook—India Women scripted one of their finest run chases, beating England Women by four wickets at Southampton to take a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. With grace, poise and a bucketload of confidence, Deepti said she had been waiting for this kind of chance:
"Jemimah and I just wanted to keep scoring 5–6 an over. I've worked hard on my sweep shot—and yes, the one-handed six, that's from watching Pant!"
Early hiccups and a slow burner of a start
Chasing 259, the Women in Blue didn't exactly race off the blocks. Smriti Mandhana exited early, barely troubling the scorers, which meant the pressure was on the middle order. Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal stitched together a partnership that was more tortoise than hare. Just when things looked mildly stable, Rawal was undone by a Sophie Ecclestone arm-ball, and Deol—perhaps dreaming of a second run that didn't exist—was lazily run out.
If that wasn't enough drama, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was pinned LBW, and at 124/4, the chase was heading towards cricket's version of 'buffering... please wait.'
Just when England thought they had India on the mat, enter Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma, who brought their own brand of counter-punching elegance. Sweeping like they were spring-cleaning a pitch, the duo forced England's spinners into a rethink.
The pair added 90 crucial runs, with Jemimah anchoring and Deepti unfurling a one-handed six that would've made even Pant grin. After Jemimah departed and Richa Ghosh went full kamikaze with a stumping that had no business happening, Amanjot Kaur calmly closed the deal, while Deepti stayed unbeaten on 62—her highest score in an ODI chase from No.6 or lower, breaking Veda Krishnamurthy's record of 52*.
The Stats Sheet: What's cooking in the numbers?
Second-highest successful chase for India Women in ODIs:
265 vs AUS-W, Mackay, 2021
259 vs ENG-W, Southampton, 2025
252 vs NZ-W, Queenstown, 2022
248 vs SA-W, Vadodara, 2019
India batters vs spin today: Balls projected to hit stumps: 23 off 43, 2 dismissals (SR: 53.48)
Other deliveries: 83 off 95, 1 dismissal (SR: 87.36)
India Women have now won 11 of their last 12 ODIs, a hot streak dating back to the West Indies series in December.
Deepti Sharma's 62* is now the highest ODI score in a run chase by an Indian batter at No.6 or lower.
Captain says… fielding needs some 'field work'
Harmanpreet Kaur acknowledged the win but wasn't thrilled with the fielding:
'Fielding is something we're working on—we missed a few chances. But Deepti's batting was just brilliant.'
She also felt India gave away 20–30 runs too many, which might've made the chase tighter than necessary.
England's Take: 'Could've, should've, didn't'
Nat Sciver-Brunt, reflecting England's frustration, admitted they might have aimed too low:
'280 would've been ideal. We lost too many wickets in clusters. And that LBW on Deepti? Just one of those weird non-appeals.'
That non-review, for what looked like a fairly good shout, will probably haunt England's dreams until Lord's.
Earlier, young seamer Kranti Goud impressed with two wickets upfront before Sophia Dunkley's unbeaten 92-ball 83 lifted England to a respectable 258 for six.
Besides Goud (2/55 in 9 overs), off-spinner Sneh Rana (2/31 in 10 overs) too picked up two wickets during a fine display after England opted to bat.
Alice Davidson Richards contributed 53 in 73 balls during a 106-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Dunkley, which formed the nucleus of the England innings after they lost four wickets for 97 runs.
Dunkley struck nine fours during her stay in the middle.
Asked to bowl first, India enjoyed early success as Goud dismissed Amy Jones with a stunning delivery for her first international wicket in her second WODI.
It was an eventful over by the 21-year-old as she bowled a hat-trick of wides before making amends with one that nipped back sharply before hitting the top of the middle stump.
The wobble seam kept the batter guessing as she leaned forward to defend, only to realise that the ball has crashed through the gate, and a delighted Goud punched the air at The Rose Bowl.
Just as England were looking to recover from the early blow, Goud struck for the second time, a lovely inswinger trapping opener Tammy Beaumont in front of the wicket. The on-field umpire was not convinced, but an Indian review clearly showed the ball hitting the top of middle stump.
Coming off a fine ODI series against the West Indies, Beaumont went too far across the stumps, and the ball hit the pad first.
At 20 for two in the fourth over, England needed a partnership and they got it through the in-form Emma Lamb and skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, the duo adding 71 runs to steady the ship.
However, England lost both the set batters in the space of two overs with off-spinner Sneh Rana inflicting the damage on the home side by sending back Lamb (39 off 50 balls) and Sciver-Brunt (41 off 52 balls).
Lamb, who came into the game after scoring three straight fifties in the Vitality Blast, struck four boundaries, while Sciver-Brunt found the fence five times.
The pressure got to Lamb as she hit one straight to mid-off after England failed to a get a boundary for five overs. As for Sciver-Brunt, she drove Rana uppishly for Jemimah Rodrigues to pull off an excellent catch.
Dunkley and Alice then came to the home team's rescue.
Player of the Match: Deepti "Sweep Queen" Sharma
With grace, poise and a bucketload of confidence, Deepti said she had been waiting for this kind of chance:
'Jemimah and I just wanted to keep scoring 5–6 an over. I've worked hard on my sweep shot—and yes, the one-handed six, that's from watching Pant!'
With that, India now have a golden chance to seal the series at Lord's on Saturday. But if history (and English cricket) is anything to go by, a fightback may be brewing across the aisle.