The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Development XI sealed the 50-over game against India by 18 runs. They went next up against India in a T20 game in Beckenham.
The English openers Bryony Smith and Maia Bouchier got their side off to a flying start with a massive 77-run opening partnership, after skipper Hollie Armitage won the toss and opted to bat first. Sneh Rana broke the partnership by sending Bryony Smith (62 off 33 balls) back to the pavilion in the 8th over of the innings to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for India. B Smith completed a quick-fire half-century before getting dismissed.
Skipper Hollie Armitage joined Maia Bouchier at the crease, and the duo stitched another crucial 40-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, taking them closer to the 120-run mark. Sneh Rana returned and picked up her 2nd scalp by sending Maia Bouchier (35 off 25 balls) back to the pavilion in the 12th over of the innings to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Emma Lamb joined skipper Hollie Armitage at the crease, and the pair switched gears en route to their counterattacking 47-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, taking them past the 150-run mark. Radha Yadav limited the damage by sending Emma Lamb (22 off 15 balls) back to the pavilion in the 17th over of the innings to provide the 3rd breakthrough for India. Eventually ECB Development XI posted a massive total of 194/8 in their quota of 20 overs.
Skipper Hollie Armitage chipped in with a vital contribution with the bat (48 off 32 balls), falling two runs short of her well-deserved half-century. Bess Heath (12 off 8 balls) provided the finishing touches for her side with the bat. Amanjot Kaur (4-0-29-2), Sneh Rana (3-0-28-2), Deepti Sharma (4-0-30-1), and Radha Yadav (4-0-35-1) were impressive with the ball for India.
Chasing a mountainous total of 195, the Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma provided them with flying starts courtesy of their 37-run opening partnership. Kirstie Gordon removed the dangerous Shafali Verma (13 off 9 balls) in the 4th over of the run chase to provide the first breakthrough for the ECB XI.
Amanjot Kaur joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease, and the duo stitched a crucial 33-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take them past the 50-run mark. Alice Davidson-Richards picked up the big wicket of Smriti Mandhana (47 off 28 balls) to provide the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for her side. She fell just three runs short of her well-deserved half-century.
The home side bounced back and picked up a couple of wickets in quick succession to reduce India to 99/4 in the 11th over of the run chase. Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease, and the duo kept the hopes alive with a brisk 40-run partnership for the 5th wicket, taking the visitors closer to the 150-run mark.
Sarah Glenn got the big scalp of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (28 off 16 balls) in the 15th over of the innings to provide the much-needed 5th breakthrough for ECB XI. She was looking in ominous rhythm, threatening to take the game away from the home side. India eventually fell 6 runs short of the target as they were restricted to 188/8 in their quota of 20 overs.
Richa Ghosh (37 off 23 balls), Radha Yadav (17* off 15 balls), and Arundhati Reddy (8 off 5 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for India. Leg-spinner Sarah Glenn (4-0-29-3) was the stand-out performer with the ball for ECB XI, while Kirstie Gordon (4-0-38-2), Alice Davidson-Richards (2-0-19-1), and Ryana MacDonald-Gay (4-0-42-2) played their part with the ball for ECB XI.
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