India women pulled off a really stunning win over England at Chelmsford, though they missed their captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Smriti Mandhana went for a golden duck and aggressive opener Shafali Verma couldn’t last either, both of them fell in the opening over… so ya, hardly anyone really expected India to bounce back from such a chaotic start. With the T20 World Cup only a couple of weeks away this victory basically gave India the exact confidence boost before the tournament. Brilliant half-centuries from Jemimah Rodrigues and Yastika Bhatia helped a lot, and so did a dream like debut spell from pacer Nandani Sharma. In the end India beat England by 38 runs in the first T20I of the three match series. India sort of slipped to 7/2 in the opening over, but then still pulled off a really impressive 188/7 somehow. England, even with Amy Jones putting up a tough 67, never truly put pressure on the chase and they finished on 150/8. Honestly, India probably left a few more runs out there on the field than they needed. And with the regular captain missing, plus the combinations not quite settled, this felt like an encouraging showing , all things considered. Jemimah and Yastika rescue Team India from disaster: England did get the kind of start you want after electing to bowl first. Lauren Bell struck twice in that opening over. Stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana chipped the first ball straight to cover, and Shafali Verma mistimed a shot to mid-on just six balls later. At 7/2, a lot of folks expected India to ease up and rebuild, slowly and carefully you know. But instead Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues went ahead and pulled off this proper counterattack, and somehow stitched together one of India’s best T20I partnerships in recent times. It was also the first time in seven years that India’s No. 3 and No. 4 both ended up not just scoring… but making half-centuries in women’s T20Is. For Yastika, this was her first T20I in more than two years, after she recovered from knee surgery. From the very start she looked calm, and kind of in control. She went after England’s bowlers and punished anything that was even slightly loose. Her first T20I fifty came off just 31 balls, and it meant India got to the 100-run mark inside 10 overs. Later on she did slow a little, though, but that innings still gave India an early burst of momentum. A brilliant start to the tour! 👏#TeamIndia wrap up a fantastic 3️⃣8️⃣-run victory at Chelmsford to go 1-0 up in the series 🇮🇳Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/TfetjAsf3e#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/Ay6JmTdDTL — BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) May 28, 2026 At the other end, Rodrigues played with this total control, and also this calm elegance. She rotated the strike brilliantly, regularly found the gaps and punished whatever was even slightly off, short or wide. Her half-century showed up with a massive straight six, and she basically never let England’s bowlers settle into any rhythm. Her wrist work, and the way she placed the shots, it really stood out across the whole innings. The pair then stitched together 126 runs for the third wicket in just 76 deliveries. By the time both batters got out, in quick succession, India had already taken full control, of the contest. Rodrigues ended on 69 off 40 balls, while Yastika made 54 from 40 deliveries. That partnership flipped a shaky start into something match-winning. India did lose a few wickets late on, but Deepti Sharma’s quick 22 off 13 balls and a useful little contribution from Arundhati Reddy meant the visitors still finished strong, on 188/7. England’s chase never really got going. The experimental opening pair of Alice Capsey and Sophia Dunkley, didn’t manage to set up anything solid, and once more India struck early. England ended up at 37/2 and it was clear they were depending on Amy Jones again. Also Read | IPL 2026: ‘Lage Raho Bete’ Gavaskar’s Special Message To Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Goes Viral After being promoted to No. 3 , Jones looked quite impressive while she was in. At the crease she kept finding boundaries, and she put on 64 runs with Heather Knight, who has become England women’s most-capped cricketer with 310 appearances. For a little while, it even felt like England might actually have enough momentum to mount a proper challenge. But then debutant Nandani Sharma changed everything. The 24-year-old pacer pulled off a memorable spell just as India needed a breakthrough , somehow. She first got rid of Jones for 67 after Shafali Verma managed a clean catch near the boundary. Then right on the very next ball, Dani Gibson holed out, and that put Nandani on a bit of a hat-trick , situation. Charlie Dean managed to hang around through that hat-trick ball, but Nandani kept showing flashes. Two balls later she tricked Issy Wong with a slower ball, it crashed into the stumps , basically sealing it. Her standout figures of 3/34 crushed England’s chances completely . The hosts never truly recovered from that collapse and, in the end, finished 38 runs short. For India, this win should give them a lot of confidence going into the T20 World Cup. Yastika’s comeback that actually worked , Rodrigues back in rhythm, and Nandani’s dream debut have handed the side quite a few positives before the big global tournament .