England 340-9 (Nat Sciver-Brunt 120, Emma Lamb 84, Kranti Goud 3-31) beat India 187 (Jemimah Rodrigues 66, Uma Chetry 45, Charlie Dean 2-29, Sophie Ecclestone 2-38) by 153 runs
India A 226-6 in 36.4 overs, DLS target 225 (Shafali Verma 70, Madiwala Mamatha 56, Jess Kerr 2-15, Amelia Kerr 2-26) beat New Zealand 273-9 (Izzy Gaze 101, Sayali Satghare 3-45) by four wickets
Pakistan v Sri Lanka and South Africa v Bangladesh abandoned, Colombo
England v India – Bengaluru
First the facts. England asked to bat, lost three for 97, then Nat Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb stitched 173 for the fourth wicket. Sciver-Brunt’s 120 came off 96 balls, Lamb’s 84 a touch steadier. The pair were separated just as India’s stand-in attack thought the worst was over; by then the tourists were already eyeing 300. Late wickets – three of them to medium-pacer Kranti Goud – kept a lid on things, yet 340 always looked bulky.
India, minus Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and the injured Yastika Bhatia, never properly settled. Jemimah Rodrigues worked the angles for 66, keeper Uma Chetry – parachuted in after Bhatia’s thumb trouble – chipped a busy 45, but the middle overs were a crawl. Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana managed 43 between them. Arundhati Reddy, who jarred her knee in the field, did not bat. All out 187. A warm-up, yes, though one that left England smiling and India hunting answers.
Nat Sciver-Brunt summed it up simply: “Good to get a long hit and even better to see Emma bat the way we know she can.” Head coach Jon Lewis called the outing “useful, no more than that, but we did most things right”.
India A v New Zealand – Chennai
Shafali Verma’s omission from India’s main World Cup squad raised eyebrows. She responded in familiar fashion: 70 from 49 balls, 11 fours, one thump over mid-wicket. The A side were chasing 225 in 40 overs after two rain breaks had trimmed the innings. By the time Shafali miscued Amelia Kerr, the equation was 102 from 118 – comfortable enough for skipper Minnu Mani (39) and wicketkeeper-batter Madiwala Mamatha (56 off 60) to steer home with 20 balls to spare.
Earlier, New Zealand had sunk to 146-7 before Izzy Gaze – keeping in place of the rested Bernadine Bezuidenhout – counter-punched a maiden hundred. “I was just trying to stay calm and back my areas,” Gaze said. Sayali Satghare, travelling reserve with the senior side, took 3-45 and found late swing that might interest India’s selectors.
Rain in Colombo
The sub-plot from Sri Lanka: unrelenting rain. Pakistan were 33-1 after 7.3 overs against the hosts when the skies opened; South Africa reached 45-3 against Bangladesh before the covers scuttled on. A shame for Bangladesh’s Marufa Akter, who had removed Laura Wolvaardt and Annerie Dercksen with steep bounce. “Big boost for us, even if it lasted just nine overs,” Nahida Akter noted after bowling Marizanne Kapp.
Context and little take-aways
• England’s batting depth looks sound; their seamers still relied on early movement.
• India’s middle order, shorn of experience, creaked. They may need Mandhana or Harmanpreet back quickly.
• Shafali remains very much in the World Cup conversation – her power-play hitting is a point of difference.
• For South Africa and Pakistan, match-time is now limited; the forecast in Colombo is mixed for the next 48 hours.
Plenty for coaches to digest, plenty still to settle, and the World Cup – mercifully – is close enough now that the talking soon turns to points that truly matter.
