11th Jun, 2026
India got into their stride in England, ahead of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, with a 26-run win over West Indies in their opening warm-up match. After a half-century from Bharti Fulmalli lifted the team to 179/8, Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil stole the show with the ball to restrict West Indies to 153/8.
Put into bat, India openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma (29) gave the team a brisk start, setting the tone for the innings.
In the first few overs, the West Indies bowlers struggled to find the right line and length. They strayed onto the leg side too often and Mandhana who was leading the side with captain Harmanpreet Kaur resting, especially was quick to punish the bowlers. The southpaw struck eight fours for a quick 39 off 23 balls.
Aaliyah Alleyne snapped the 59-run opening stand as she had Mandhana mistime a shot to mid-on. India posted 70-1 in powerplay and continued in that vein despite losing three quick wickets.
Yastika Bhatia and Bharti Fulmalli helped India recover from the wobble with a 60-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The former had compiled a confident 36 off 26 when the team management retired her out, in an effort to give more match time to players down the order.
After Richa Ghosh and Radha Yadav were dismissed in the very next over, Fulmali held the innings together with a well-paced half-century. She scored an unbeaten 56 off 40 balls, with the help of six fours and the lone six of the innings, to make sure India finished with a strong total. Leg-break bowler Afy Fletcher was the pick of the bowlers for West Indies as she claimed 4/23 in her four overs.
India stuck mainly to their lead bowlers to start the warm-ups on a winning note. The Caribbean side struggled against the slower bowlers, with Patil (4/36) and Yadav (3/25) claiming all the wickets - Shemaine Campbelle was retired out.
Chasing a challenging total, Deandra Dottin and Campbelle put on an opening stand of 63/1. But they mustered only 37 in powerplay and were left to play catch-up.
Campbelle's exit resulted in a collapse as West Indies slipped to 103/6. Dottin missed out narrowly on a half-century as she was dismissed for 49 off 41 balls. Despite a couple of big hits from Aaliyah Alleyne and Shawnisha Hector later in the innings, West Indies fell well short of the total.
(Courtesy: ICC).
