Women's T20 World Cup: Smriti's 52 in vain as India loses to England

India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana’s half-century (52 off 41 balls) and an entertaining 34-ball 47 from Richa Ghosh went in vain as India lost their ICC Womens T20 World Cup group match to England by 11 runs in Gqeberha on Saturday.

The cheap dismissals of opener Shafali Verma (8), Jemimah Rodrigues (13) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (4) contributed to the defeat as India could never recover from the top-order collapse.

Earlier, India had restricted England to 151 for seven with medium pacer Renuka Singh (5/15) registering her best bowling figures in the format after India opted to bowl. Her five-wicket haul gave India hope that they could defeat the Heather Knight-led side, but Sarah Glenn (2/27 in 4 overs) and Sophie Ecclestone’s (1/11 in 3 overs) restrictive bowling didn’t allow Indian batters play their strokes freely.

Finally, a winning total of 152 proved too much for India.

Brief Scores: England: 151 for 7 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 50; Renuka Singh 5/15) beat India 140 for 5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 52, Richa Ghosh 47 not out; Sarah Glenn 2/27, Sophie Ecclestone 1/14)

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