ODI WC warm-ups: England dominate, Shafali impresses, rain halts Colombo clashes
Sciver-Brunt scored century in a game where India's batting collapsed in the absence of senior players
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Sep-2025 • 1 hr ago
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb added 173 runs for the fourth wicket • Getty Images
England 340 for 9 (Sciver-Brunt 120, Lamb 84, Goud 3-31) beat India 187 (Rodrigues 66, Chetry 45, Smith 2-35, Ecclestone 2-38) by 153 runs
Without Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Pratika Rawal, India's batting order crumbled against England at Bengaluru's Centre of Excellence ground in a warm-up fixture ahead of the ODI World Cup. Chasing 341, India were all out for 187, with Arundhati Reddy not coming out to bat due to a leg injury she sustained while bowling.
Wicketkeeper Uma Chetry, who was included in the squad in place of the injured Yastika Bhatia, made a promising 45, while captain Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored with 66 off 68 balls. Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, and Sneh Rana combined to make just 43 runs in the middle order.
Sent in to bat, England, propelled by captain Nat Sciver-Brunt's brisk 120 and Emma Lamb's 84, piled up 340. India's pace spearhead Renuka Singh struck in her first over to remove Tammy Beaumont, and the hosts had both Amy Jones and Heather Knight back before the halfway stage. However, Sciver-Brunt and Lamb's 173-run stand put England in front, despite Kranti Goud's three-wicket haul later in the innings.
India A 226 for 6 (Shafali 70, Mamatha 56*, Jess Kerr 2-15, Amelia Kerr 2-26) beat New Zealand 273 for 9 (Gaze 101*, Satghare 3-45) by four wickets via DLS method
Shafali Verma, left out of India's World Cup squad, scored a blistering 49-ball 70 in India A's four-wicket win over New Zealand in a rain-affected fixture.
After New Zealand posted 273 for 9 on the back of Izzy Gaze's unbeaten 101 at No. 7, multiple rain interruptions left India chasing a revised target of 225 in 40 overs. Shafali's brisk knock - which included 11 fours and a six - gave the innings early momentum. Captain Minnu Mani remained unbeaten on 39, while wicketkeeper Madiwala Mamatha contributed a crucial 56 not out off 60 balls at No. 8.
Earlier, Sayali Satghare, the reserve seamer for India at the World Cup, picked up three wickets. India A had New Zealand reeling at 146 for 7, but Gaze's counterattacking century helped the Sophie-Devine-led side post a competitive total.
In Colombo, both the Pakistan-Sri Lanka game and South Africa's match against Bangladesh were washed out. Sri Lanka were 33 for 1 in 7.3 overs when play came to an end, while in the other contest, South Africa had reached 45 for 3 in nine overs before rain intervened. Bangladesh's young pacer Marufa Akter dismissed both Laura Wolvaardt and Annerie Dercksen, while Nahida Akter bowled Marizanne Kapp - a dream start for Bangladesh.