India 179-8 (Fulmali 56*, Mandhana 39, Fletcher 4-23) beat West Indies 153-8 (Dottin 49, Campbelle 25, Patil 4-36, Radha 3-25) by 26 runs
Australia 158-5 (Perry 64, Mooney 43, Bell 2-22) beat England 157-6 (Capsey 45, Kemp 41, King 2-10, Schutt 2-20) by five wickets
Cardiff – A low-key, chilly afternoon produced two tidy results as India and Australia began their Women’s T20 World Cup preparations with fairly routine wins. Both matches followed a similar pattern: early runs, mid-innings wobbles, then bowlers tightening the screws.
India v West Indies
Asked to bat first, India put up 179 for eight, a total built on Smriti Mandhana’s breezy 39 at the top and Bharti Fulmali’s unruffled, unbeaten 56. Fulmali, recalled after a year out, arrived with the score 85 for three and simply stayed there, sweeping and driving six fours and a straight six. “I kept telling myself to play late and find the gaps,” she said on the host broadcaster, her bat tucked under one arm.
West Indies’ most dependable threat came from Afy Fletcher. The leg-spinner varied her flight and pace, finishing with 4-23 – career-best in warm-ups or otherwise. Yet the visitors still leaked 60 in the last seven overs, largely due to Fulmali’s calm placement and Yastika Bhatia’s busier 36.
Deandra Dottin (49) offered West Indies hope in reply, muscling five boundaries and a pulled six. When she and Shemaine Campbelle put on 63, the chase looked alive. Then Shreyanka Patil entered. The off-spinner’s four-for, all right-handers, arrived via a mix of dip and a fuller length that tempted drives. Radha Yadav, skiddy and quick through the air, backed her up with three for 25. From 90 for one, West Indies subsided to 153 for eight; India’s fielders, vocal and sharp, helped strangle the last five overs.
Australia v England
England also chose to bat and, at 19 for three, immediately regretted it. Kim Garth nipped one back to remove Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Megan Schutt trapped Amy Jones, and Alana King bowled Nat Sciver-Brunt playing across the line. Alice Capsey (45) counter-punched, her pick-up over mid-wicket striking the empty seats, while Heather Knight steadied with 25. Freya Kemp’s lively 41 lifted England to 157 for six, something to bowl at but hardly imposing.
Australia treated it as a gentle pursuit. Beth Mooney carved 43 from 26 balls, all timing, while Georgia Voll offered quiet support. Ellyse Perry, coming in at first drop, breezed to 64 from 43 deliveries, nine times threading the cover fence. The target fell with ten balls unused despite a late double strike from Lauren Bell.
Analysis
For India, Fulmali’s return and Patil’s control were the main pluses; Mandhana’s touch looked intact, whereas Jemimah Rodrigues fell to a loopy leg-break and will want time in the middle. West Indies rely heavily on Dottin, and, minus Hayley Matthews, lacked acceleration once she holed out.
England, still easing Sciver-Brunt back, struggled to absorb Australia’s new-ball pressure. Mooney and Perry then exposed a bowling attack missing Sophie Ecclestone. “We were a bit rusty, simple as that,” Heather Knight admitted in a short post-game chat.
Both victors will shrug off the ‘only a warm-up’ caveat but know sterner tests await once the tournament proper starts.
