T20 World Cup, IND vs ENG live: Shafali Verma departs early as Smriti Mandhana starts strong

IND 37/1 (5 overs): Leg-spinner Dean joins the attack and Mandhana welcomes her with a drive over mid-on for four. Another classy shot from the left-hander.

IND 29/1 (4 overs): OUT! England get their first wicket as Lauren Bell removes Shafali Verma. The right-hander miscues one and Katherine Sciver-Brunt takes a straightforward catch at mid-on. Poor shot from Shafali. The new batter is Jemimah Rodrigues.

IND 27/0 (3 overs): Four fours in the over for Mandhana! She was getting a bit frustrated after finding the fielders repeatedly but she was in full flow in that Katherine over. The right-arm pacer paying the price for bowling the wrong line and length to the left-hander.

IND 11/0 (2 overs): First boundary of the Indian innings and it comes from Shafali’s bat. Bell offers width and the right-hander guides the ball past point for four.

IND 4/0 (1 over): Just four runs from the first over of the innings, bowled by Katherine Sciver-Brunt. Mandhana with a few crisp drives but straight to the cover fielder.

8.12 pm: We’re ready for the chase! The target for India is 152 runs. As always, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma’s opening partnership will be crucial. Here we go!

ENG 151/7 (20 overs): Renuka Singh Thakur gets a five-for! After a memorable opening spell, Renuka returns for her last over at the end of England’s innings and strikes twice. Amy Jones (40 off 27) and Katherine Sciver-Brunt are dismissed off consecutive deliveries. Renuka returns with fantastic figures of 5/15 from her four overs.

England finish with 151/7

ENG 144/5 (19 overs): Two sixes! A poor over from Deepti. She drops the ball way short twice and Ecclestone and Jones hit a six each. Just what England needed.

ENG 127/5 (17 overs): Radha Yadav concedes 10 runs in her last over to return with figures of 0/27. England need Amy Jones to take most of the strike in the last two overs.

ENG 120/5 (16.5 overs): Fifty! for Natalie Sciver-Brunt! She came to the crease with England under pressure but went on to take control quickly. The right-hander gets her half-century off 41 deliveries. Out! And she’s gone. Sciver-Brunt got to her half-century earlier in the over but Deepti Sharma gets her this time. The right-hander reverse-sweeps the ball straight to short-third. The end of a fine knock. The new batter is Sophie Ecclestone.

ENG 117/4 (16 overs): Jones is accelerating nicely here. The right-hander picks up consecutive fours off Radha as England take 11 runs from the over.

ENG 106/4 (15 overs): Six! The first maximum of the match and what a shot it is. Vastrakar pitches it in the slot and Jones swings cleanly to send the ball a long way.

ENG 92/4 (14 overs): Radha beats Jones’ outside edge and India take another poor review. The ball was nowhere close to the edge. Six runs from that over.

ENG 86/4 (13 overs): Top over from Shikha, just two runs from it. Sciver-Brunt has moved to 40 off 30.

ENG 84/4 (12 overs): Radha Yadav joins the attack and bowls a tidy over, just four singles from it. India need to keep building pressure.

ENG 80/4 (11 overs): OUT! Shikha Pandey gets India a much-needed breakthrough! England captain Heather Knight drives a juicy full-toss straight to Shafali at cover and departs for 28 off 23. The new batter is Amy Jones.

ENG 72/3 (10 overs): England get to the halfway stage of their innings on a high. Shafali comes on to bowl, offers two knee-high full-tosses, and Sciver Brunt picks fours either side of the pitch. This has been a poor phase with the ball for India. They need to break this partnership at the earliest.

ENG 61/3 (9 overs): Another good over for England, 12 runs from it. Gayakwad joins the attack and Knight picks fours either side of the pitch. The left-arm spinner is yet to find her best in the tournament.

ENG 49/3 (8 overs): Classy shot from Sciver-Brunt. Deepti tosses the ball up and the right-hander steps out to whip it through mid-wicket for four. Nine runs from that over.

ENG 40/3 (7 overs): Shikha returns to the attack and bowls a quiet over, just three runs from it. This is a crucial partnership for England.

ENG 37/3 (6 overs): India have lost both their reviews. Deepti joins the attack and there’s an appeal for LBW against Knight and DRS shows an edge.

ENG 29/3 (4.4 overs): OUT! Make that three wickets in three overs for Renuka Thakur! Sophia Dunkley is clean bowled as well. The right-hander goes for an expansive shot and leaves a big gap open. The new batter is England captain Heather Knight.

ENG 24/2 (4 overs): Good over for England. Shikha is replaced after just one over by Pooja and Sciver-Brunt picks up two fours. The first one was a well-played scoop and the second a lucky inside edge.

ENG 10/2 (2.1 overs): OUT! Renuka Singh Thakur! Another brilliant delivery by the pacer and this time Alice Capsey is clean bowled. It was the perfect length and swung in just the right amount. The new batter is the dangerous Natalie Sciver-Brunt.

ENG 10/1 (2 overs): Dunkley steps out and thumps one from Shikha past mid-off for four. Richa then comes up to the stumps and completes a good take.

ENG 1/1 (0.3 overs): OUT! Renuka Singh strikes in the first over! Dani Wyatt is out with Richa Ghosh taking a superb one-handed catch. It was a thick edge and the Indian keeper took a sharp reflex catch. The new batter is Capsey.

6.30 pm: The players are on the field, the national anthems are done, and we’re ready for play. Renuka Singh has the new ball in hand for India, Sophia Dunkley and Danielle Wyatt are at the crease for England. Here we go!

Playing XIs

England: Sophia Dunkley, Danielle Wyatt, Alice Capsey, Nat Sciver Brunt, Heather Knight (c), Amy Jones (w), Katherine Sciver Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlotte Dean, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell.

India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (w), Shikha Pandey, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur Singh.

Upcoming Milestones:

• Harmanpreet Kaur requires 11 runs to become the first Indian batter to reach 3000 runs in W-T20Is.
• Nat Sciver needs to score 40 more runs to become the third England player to notch up 500 runs in ICC Women’s T20 World Cups.

— Courtesy ICC Media Zone

Toss: After losing the toss in the first two games, Harmanpreet Kaur has won it this time and opted to bowl first. One change for India: Shikha Pandey replaces Devika Vaidya.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. It’s a big day today with India taking on England in a match which could potentially decide who tops Group 2.

In India’s last match, Deepti Sharma became the first Indian to pick up 100 wickets in T20Is after her 3/15 restricted West Indies to 118/6 before the young Richa Ghosh starred in India’s successful chase with an unbeaten 44 off 32 balls.

While India survived two tricky chases, England won both their matches authoritatively. The winner of this match will likely top the group and be rewarded by potentially avoiding Australia in the semi-final.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy: Disney+Hotstar and ICC match center

Statistics courtesy ESPNCricinfo Statsguru and Sportsradar via ICC