Indian Women vs England Women: England seeking redemption after first ODI blunder
by Thobelani Moyo | by Cydias Aujard
England are out of sorts
England are being guided by Charlotte Edwards. Edwards' charges come into the second ODI of the 3-match series with disappointment filled in their faces after a morale-sapping outcome against India in the first ODI.
Despite batting first at Southampton, it was not enough to see the Lionesses avoid losing by four wickets with ten balls remaining in the picture.
In that match, Charlotte Edwards' charges went 97/4 in the first 20 overs. Sophia Dunkley was undeniably the top performer for the team. The batter scored 83 runs from 92 deliveries and had a 90.22 strike rate. Those numbers alone propelled England to 258/6 in 50 overs, but in the end were not sufficient.
Another name that impressed was that of Alice Davidson‑Richards, who scored 53 runs from 73 deliveries and had two boundaries. She was also behind the rescue of England after her team stumbled to 97/4 in a solid 106-run partnership with Sophia Dunkley.
This is what Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt had to say about the brilliant partnership between Davidson‑Richards and Dunkley:
"Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards played really, really well. To get to that total from 90-4 was brilliant, but ultimately, we didn’t have enough runs."
India is riding high on momentum
India continues to be a thorn in England's side. Underdogs in the First ODI match, the Tourists had the last laugh and emerged victorious to take a 1-0 lead (262-6).
Digging deeper into that victory, a record was made, as they made 259 run chases in that game. This marked their second-best run chase in women's ODIs with their 265 against Australia in 2021, taking the lead in this category.
Check out some of their highest run chases in women's ODIs:
| Opponents | Run chases completed | Ground | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 265 | Mackay | 2021 |
| England | 259 | Southampton | 2025 |
| New Zealand | 252 | Queenstown | 2022 |
| South Africa | 248 | Vadodara | 2019 |
| South Africa | 245 | Colombo | 2017 |
India has England in a chokehold
India is refusing to give England some breathing room. That triumph in the first ODI of the 3-match series was straight win number five for the Tourists in England.
How can we forget that the women in blue recently achieved the impossible against England in the T20i series? In a five-match series, they secured a 3-2 lead.
We can clearly see that India has a psychological edge over their opponents, leading us to believe they can make their life difficult. If you want to find out more about their historic win, we suggest you head to our previous article here.
Players who had an impact on India in the first ODI
Talking about players that had an impact on India in the first ODI would take the whole day. And yes, that's how good they were in ending England's unbeaten run at home since 2023.
In the meantime, we will get in touch with a few players and their numbers.
Smriti Mandhana, at just 28 years old, is averaging 46.40 in the women's ODI after 103 innings. Mandhana was recently under the spotlight during the first ODI against England after reaching a milestone in her cricketing career. She completed 4500 runs in women's ODIs and ranks second in this category. Mithali Raj takes the top spot with 7805 runs.
The partnership of Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma was one of the reasons India won against England. Both players made a 90-run partnership. However, credit has to be given where it's due because of Deepti Sharma's 62 innings.
Final thoughts
The second ODI is where England's redemption arc begins. This time around, they'll need to put behind them their shaky performance from the first ODI and get back on track. If they fail to do so, India will be out to capitalize on their misfortunes once again.
