ENG W VS IND W ODI

Right then, India have landed the first punch, and with the ODI series being a three-game affair, there is no room for error now for England. The caravan now moves to London, with the second ODI set to be played at Lord's on Saturday, 19th July. The last time these two sides met at that iconic venue in an ODI, it ended in high drama with Deepti Sharma catching Charlie Dean off guard at the non-striker’s end while backing up in a moment that sparked widespread debate. It promises to be another cracking contest. With it being a day game, the first ball will be bowled at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT), but we will be with you well before that for the build-up. Until then, take care and goodbye!

The skipper of India, Harmanpreet Kaur, says that the credit goes to the bowlers for the way they bowled, and it was a crucial innings from Deepti Sharma. Adds that they still gave 20-25 runs extra, but they still knew that was a good wicket to bat on and thought that if they batted till the end, they'll chase this down. Mentions that they're working on the fielding, and they missed a few chances in this game, but they will look to make it up next time. Shares that Jemimah Rodrigues' calmness on the field was fantastic, and the rotation of the strike between her and Deepti was good as well.

The captain of England, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, says the recovery partnership between Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards was brilliant and gave them a real chance, but admits they lost wickets in clusters, which cost them momentum. Mentions that the outfield dried out during their innings, making boundaries a bit harder to come by, so they had to rely more on running between the wickets. Ideally, she feels 280 would have been a good total on that surface. Still, she’s proud of how the team stayed in the game and built pressure throughout the second half. Adds they just need to show a bit more discipline in key moments. Reflecting on not reviewing the LBW call against Deepti Sharma, she says there wasn’t much of an appeal as everyone felt it was going down leg, calling it a strange one, but something that happens from time to time in cricket.

Deepti Sharma is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for her unbeaten match-winning knock of 62 runs from 64 balls. Deepti says that she was waiting for this opportunity. Adds that she had a conversation with Jemimah Rodrigues to build a partnership and kept scoring 5-6 runs per over. Mentions that she was working on the sweep shots, and she looked to play that shot early in the innings. Highlights that she is used to playing one-handed shots in practice, and she picked that from Rishabh Pant. Concludes that they have played a lot of matches here in England previously, so they're aware of the conditions here, and they enjoy playing in these conditions.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Earlier, England opted to bat first but were dealt early blows by Kranti Goud. A brief recovery was underway through Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb, but both succumbed to India’s sustained spin pressure. It took a composed 106-run stand between Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards to steady the innings. The pair, however, rode their luck with Alice dropped on 16 and Dunkley given a life when she was on 22. Davidson-Richards fell just as England looked to switch gears, but Dunkley combined with Sophie Ecclestone to inject a late surge and took their side to 258. Sneh Rana was the star with the ball for India with figures of 2 for 31 from her 10 overs. Kranti Gaud also had two wickets to her name but was on the expensive side.

With the game slipping away, Sciver-Brunt was forced to turn back to Ecclestone, but India played her out. Lauren Bell, however, did create a chance when Deepti was on 40 but England opted not to review the LBW call, a decision they will look back on with regret. Jemimah Rodrigues and later Richa Ghosh both perished to shots that could have been avoided, briefly opening the door for England. However, Deepti, with Amanjot Kaur for company, ensured there were no further stumbles as India sealed the win.

Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma joined forces at a critical point in the chase and stitched together a 90-run partnership. The pair played low-risk cricket by working the ball around for singles and twos, while also finding the odd boundary to ensure the required run rate never got out of hand. Natalie Sciver-Brunt had just two specialist spin options to call upon, and her trump card, Sophie Ecclestone, who looked the most threatening, had already bowled the bulk of her overs. That left the Indian pair with a clear opening, and they handled others with ease.

There was something in the pitch early on for the pacers when India bowled, but England’s seamers couldn’t quite exploit it and struggled for consistency with the new ball. Smriti Mandhana’s wicket was their only breakthrough during the Powerplay. India looked in control at 94/1, but all of a sudden, they slumped to 124/4. Pratika Rawal and Harmanpreet Kaur failed to convert their starts, and a lackadaisical piece of running from Harleen Deol gifted England the opening they were searching for.

India draw first blood in the series! Just like in the T20Is, it is the tourists who have struck first. At the halfway stage, it felt like England were 15-20 runs short, and so it proved. That said, they didn’t help themselves with a lack of discipline, both in the field and with the ball.

FOUR! DONE AND DUSTED! India Women take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series as they win the first ODI by 4 wickets! Hard length and outside off, Amanjot Kaur extends her arms to reach out and carves it through cover point, beating the diving backward point fielder to her right for a boundary to finish it off.

FOUR! Scores are level! Pitches it full and around off, Amanjot Kaur comes forward and just chips it aerially over mid-wicket with ease. The ball races away to the boundary.

Back of a length and around off, Amanjot Kaur pulls it down to deep square leg for one more. India Women need 5 runs.

Another bouncer, around the left shoulder of the batter this time, Amanjot Kaur leaves it. Amanjot isn't happy with the call and so is Deepti, as she asks the umpire, as they think it should have been called a wide for height.

A bouncer, around the right shoulder of the batter, Amanjot Kaur sways away from the line of the ball.

A bit shorter and around leg, Deepti swivels and pulls it down to deep fine leg for one more. India need just 6 now.

Sliding down the leg side, on a length, Amanjot Kaur extends her arms to flick it to deep fine leg for one.