Mandhana's 86 headlines India's nervy win

In what turned out to be a game full of sharp twists and turns, India held their nerve to seal a nail-biting one-wicket win against England in the first ODI in Nagpur, on Friday (April 6). The last wicket pair of Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav shared a crucial, undefeated stand of 18 as the hosts hunted down the target with five balls to spare.

Turning the pages and look back at India's innings, they seemed to be in control of the chase. On a track offering more than enough assistance for spinners, Smriti Mandhana (86), the opener, played a string of shots to keep the scorecard ticking over.

The southpaw batter gave a glimpse of her positive intent by driving Anya Shrubsole down the ground in the very first over. In the third over, she took advantage of a free-hit to again thump Shrubsole into the stands. Despite losing Devika Vaidya (15) and Mithali Raj (0) in a space of 15 balls, Mandhana continued to spearhead India's chase.

When Sophie Ecclestone, the Lancashire left-arm spinner, was introduced into the attack, Mandhana pulled one over the deep square leg fence. Ecclestone is known for her discipline, but Mandhana put her on the back foot by smacking a six. Harmanpreet Kaur (21) gave her good support as the duo strung together a stand of 51 for the third wicket. At 92 for 2 in the 22nd over, England were desperate for a wicket and it was provided by Ecclestone. The 18-year-old prised out Harmanpreet LBW with a straighter-one.

With Mandhana still at the crease, India believed they could cross the finishing line. However, rest of the batters were finding it increasingly difficult to negate the spin-friendly conditions. The point can be capsulised by Ecclestone getting one to explode via the rough to hit Deepti Sharma on the helmet grille. Mandhana, though, looked assured at the crease as she collected a six and a boundary off Danielle Wyatt and Alex Hartley respectively.

Comfortable at 166 for 3 , India lost six wickets for 24 runs in the chase before eking out a one-wicket win

It was Georgia Elwiss, the Staffordshire and Sussex all-rounder, who lifted England by dismissing Deepti in the 36th over. Elwiss then made the crucial incision by removing Mandhana with an off-cutter. India, who seemed to be cruising towards the target, suddenly slid to 171 for 5. To make matters worse for the hosts, the accurate Ecclestone snuffed out Sushma Verma, Veda Krishnamurthy and Jhulan Goswami.

At that juncture, the home side needed a further 25 runs off 26 balls. India soon lost their ninth wicket when Wyatt effected a direct-hit with a rocket throw to catch Shikha Pandey short of the crease. For a while, it felt as if the 2017 World Cup final between the two countries at Lord's had been revisited, where India collapsed to lose by nine runs.

Shrubsole, who had played a stellar role in the Lord's final with a six-for, decided to bowl the penultimate over. Unfortunately for England, she couldn't replicate that memorable performance as Bisht swung the first delivery via backward square leg for a boundary. Shrubsole had also overstepped, which resulted in a free-hit. Poonam then took India within two runs of a well-earned win by drilling the England captain through mid on.

In the final over, bowled by Natalie Sciver, Bisht pinched a single off the first ball before the all-rounder bowled a wide as the hosts clinched a cliffhanger. Earlier, the spin duo of Yadav and Bisht had also played a major role with the ball to bowl England out for a slightly below par total.

Wyatt (27) and Tammy Beaumont (37) had given the visitors a solid platform with a first wicket stand of 71 in just under 12 overs. At that stage, Poonam ran through the batting line-up as England were reduced to 102 for 5. The leg-spinner took three of the first five wickets to fall. Fran Wilson (41) and Danielle Hazell (33), batting at No. 9, made vital contributions to propel the tourists to a score of some respectability. Poonam snared a four-fer while Bisht bagged three scalps.

The first game of the three-match series also saw Mithali Raj surpass Charlotte Edwards (191 ODIs) to become the most capped cricketer in Women ODIs. The second ODI will be played in Nagpur on Monday (April 9).

Brief scores: England Women207 in 49.3 overs (Fran Wilson 45, Tammy Beaumont 37; Poonam Yadav 4-30) lost to India Women 208/9 in 49.1 overs (Smriti Mandhana 86; Sophie Ecclestone 4-37) by one wicket.