In a warm-up match on Wednesday against India at Cardiff, England concluded their preparation for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 with victory by five wickets against India.
The English innings was led by fifties by Amy Jones and Nat Sciver-Brunt as the team scored 171/6, followed by dismissal of India by 166 runs in the last ball of the match. A little bit of relief came for India through Richa Ghosh's counter attack, but it failed to help India to cross England.
India won the toss and put England to bat first in wet conditions, only to lose their wickets in quick succession. Jones and Sciver-Brunt then made things easy for England by scoring a 70-run partnership.
England's breakthrough performance
With a silky run of 64 runs laced with eight boundaries, Jones paved the way, whereas Sciver-Brunt came back strong after recovering from a calf injury by scoring an unbeaten 57 runs in 45 balls for England.
Off-spinner Shafali Verma was India's hero once again as she dismissed Jones with her second consecutive game-opening spell. She did so by keeping the ball down and hitting the stumps.
England's run was briefly stalled due to the intervention of rain in the 15th over, but Sciver-Brunt made sure England kept going. The last-over burst of energy in England came from Danielle Gibson as she scored 30 runs off just 12 balls, taking England home with 19 runs in the over at 171/6.
The Indian performance
Shreyanka Patil followed up her good performance with figures of 2/29 from her four-wicket performance against the West Indies, while Shafali Verma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Sree Charani and Radha Yadav added one scalp each.
After losing both of their opening batsmen within the first three overs, India's pursuit began on a sour note, with Smriti Mandhana out via a diving catch by Tilly Corteen-Coleman, while Shafali perished for a cheap score, as she was stumped after getting out to Issy Wong.
A number of Indian batters managed to start well, but they could not capitalize on them. India's innings took a dramatic turn when Richa Ghosh came in to bat, as the side was reeling at 63/4 having lost Harmanpreet Kaur.
Richa Ghosh showed why she is India's number one all-rounder, with many speculating about her recent struggles with the bat. The wicketkeeper scored 68 runs off just 36 deliveries as she hit a huge six over the deep square leg boundary to complete his fifty, followed by a boundary shortly afterwards.
India required 17 runs off the last over, with Richa almost managing to win a remarkable game, scoring a four and a six in the process. Nonetheless, England hold themselves by a five run victory
England breaks down India's hope
With India required just a single boundary to turn around their sensational fightback, and three deliveries left in the game, Richa tried to hit another six to finish off the game. But Richa was out in the air, as Linsey Smith had trapped her leg stump, thus ending her terrific innings.
The wicket put an end to India's slim chances, and Renuka Singh Thakur was dismissed right after, completing the chase of 166, securing a five-run victory for England.
England's best bowler was Smith, who took three wickets for 42 runs, while Charlie Dean, Tilly Corteen-Coleman and Danielle Gibson picked up two wickets each.
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup will commence from June 12, organised at the venues of England and Wales. With this defeat against England in warm-up match ahead of the main event, India is set to play their official match in June 14 against Pakistan.
FAQs:
Q1: How many runs did Richa Ghosh score against England in the warm-up match?
Ans: Richa Ghosh scored 68 runs off 36 balls in India's chase.
Q2: By how many runs did England defeat India in the T20 World Cup warm-up?
Ans: England secured a narrow five-run victory over India.
