Shreyanka Patil defended 13 runs in the last over as India A beat England A by three runs in the opening Twenty20 at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Player of the Match Patil picked up figures of 2/26 in four overs as India A restricted the visitors to 131/8 after having set a target of 135.
England seemed to be in control of the chase with a 70-run stand for the fourth wicket between vice-captain Hollie Armitage (52) and wicketkeeper-batter Seren Smale (31). But Minnu Mani initiated a mini-collapse after dismissing Armitage caught and bowled in the 17th over. Kashvee Gautam would then go on to pick up the wickets of Smale and Issy Wong, derailing England’s effort.
In the end, despite conceding five extras in the final over, the 21-year-old Patil recovered to take the wicket of Ryana MacDonald before running out Laura Flier on the last ball of the innings and seal the victory for India A in the three-match series.
The Indian innings saw handy contributions from the top order – Disha Kasat top scored with 25 off 32 balls while opener Dinesh Vrinda and Gnanananda Divya both scored 22. Arushi Goel (15) and Kanika Ahuja (19) chipped in at the end to push India A to a total of 134/7.
Freya Kemp and Charlie Dean both picked up two wickets each with Wong, Flier and Kirstie Gordon taking one wicket apiece.
India A will take on England A in the second T20 on December 1 and the third T20 on December 3, both at the same venue in Mumbai.
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