India vs England, first T20I: Harmanpreet Kaur and Co undone the brilliance of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone | Cricket News

India’s new head coach Amol Muzumdar said that every step his team takes during the home series against England and Australia will be a measure of where the squad stands ahead of the T20 World Cup in 2024.On Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium, Heather Knight and Co showed Muzumdar the kind of work that lies ahead of him as India were comprehensively defeated 38 runs in the first T20I.
When England lost a home T20I series against Sri Lanka in September, it prompted some concerns and raised eyebrows. But they were without two of their superstars in Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone. The two showed in Mumbai in the series-opener just why they are so integral to England’s fortunes.

Starting strong!!! 💪
A great night at the Wankhede 😍#EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/OiPLTyIPv9
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 6, 2023
It all started brightly for India after Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and chose to bowl, and the returning Renuka Singh Thakur gave the hosts a sensational start with wickets off consecutive deliveries in the first over. But from 2/2, Danielle Wyatt and Sciver-Brunt stitched together a game-changing 138-run partnership to take England to a mammoth 197/6. In the chase, India had their moments but the target always seemed out of reach despite a good half-century Shafali Verma. India eventually ran out of steam in the back half and finished at 159/6.
In the final analysis, the Indian bowling and fielding effort was perhaps the difference as England finished with what Knight felt at the end was an above-par score. The star for England with the ball was world No.1 Ecclestone, who had been out of action due to shoulder surgery but bowled like she was never away to finish with stunning figures of 3/15 from her four overs.
Smart counter-punching
Wyatt and Sciver-Brunt could have easily decided to drop anchor and consolidate England’s batting innings but counterpunched smartly to throw India’s bowling plans off course. The boundary-hitting frequency for England even after going two down in the early exchanges was impressive. After hitting none in the first two overs, the England batters hit at least one boundary in every over after that till the end of the innings. It is what Knight said at the toss and after the match too, that her side will always look to take the initiative and put opponents under pressure.
Sciver-Brunt showed her fondness for Mumbai once more. She had smashed 332 runs at a strike rate of around 140 in the Women’s Premier League earlier this year, playing a major role in Mumbai Indians’ title-winning campaign. She has an uncanny knack of starting her innings in a high gear but without taking risks. Often her score would pile up at a sharp rate before the opponents know what’s hit them. It is exactly what transpired on Wednesday as she took on the Indian pacers while Wyatt complemented her brilliantly to target the spinners.

These two are smashing it!!! 🔥
Match centre ➡️ https://t.co/aXtONJoXsz#EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/HdQPYx6vM3
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 6, 2023
India’s bowling attack has a new look for this series, as they had Renuka back from a lengthy break from cricket while Saika Ishaque and Shreyanka Patil were handed well-earned debuts. While Renuka hit the ground running, England targeted the rookie spin duo, and even the experienced Deepti Sharma, with timely boundaries. India’s bowlers struggled to hit the right lengths for a majority of the night, as full tosses and slot balls helped England keep up a high scoring rate. Both Saika and Shreyanka showed glimpses of why they have indeed been given India caps, picking up three wickets between them. But they would finish the night with lessons to learn going forward in terms of control over their lines and bowling to set plans.
Muzumdar made a strong pre-series assertion that a lot of effort will be put into improving India’s fielding. But it deserted them at crucial moments. In the 12th over of England’s innings, Shreyanka dropped Sciver-Brunt on 45 and then Pooja Vastrakar dropped Wyatt on 52. That two of the best fielders in the side couldn’t hang on to fairly straightforward chances was put down to rustiness Harmanpreet later on.
Ecclestone magic
India did manage to pull things back a bit at the back end to restrict England below 200 but if they had any realic chance of chasing down 198, they needed a strong opening partnership. But Smriti Mandhana was dismissed Sciver-Brunt in her first over with one that nipped back into the left-hander. While Shafali, and Harmanpreet briefly, did provide the home fans a bit of hope with some big hitting, the chase fizzled out after the captain was dismissed.

Keep those wickets coming please 🤞
Match centre ➡️ https://t.co/aXtONJopD1#EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/GzOgonZbLD
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 6, 2023
In fact, both those crucial wickets were picked up Ecclestone, who is a master at varying her pace and trajectory. After floating one slightly outside off to Harmanpreet, she darted one in to dismiss the Indian captain bowled. And later in the innings, she drew Shafali into a mishit with her flight. Two of India’s best hopes on the night were sent back the world’s best bowler.
Harmanpreet said later on that the new-look bowling unit had a tough night, but one which they can learn from. It will have to be a quick turnaround as they look to turn the series around over the weekend in back-to-back matches.