India Women vs England Women 1st ODI Bengaluru May 2026 — Smriti Mandhana's 130 Anchor

Smriti Mandhana's ODI hundreds have become the metronome of women's cricket in India. She made her first one in 2017 and her ninth on May 14 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The 1st ODI of the India Women home series against England Women was the kind of innings that confirmed the 29-year-old as her country's most accomplished opening batter — 130 off 119 balls, 12 fours and three sixes, against an England attack that mixed pace and spin equally. India Women won by 56 runs and the home series is off to the start the home dressing room had been planning.

Phase one: the Mandhana plan

Mandhana opens for India Women. The captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and chose to bat first on a M Chinnaswamy surface that traditionally favours bat. The plan was for Mandhana to bat through the first 35 overs and let Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues attack in the middle and death.

Mandhana opened with Shafali Verma. Shafali fell to Lauren Bell in the third over for 11. Harleen Deol came in at three and the second-wicket partnership of 84 in 16 overs lifted India to 119 for 1 by the 19th over. Mandhana had moved at her own pace — 49 not out off 51 at the halfway point.

What the numbers say

Mandhana's 130 broke into three phases. Phase one (balls 1-40): 38 runs at strike rate 95, four boundaries. Phase two (balls 41-80): 49 runs at strike rate 122.5, four boundaries and a six. Phase three (balls 81-119): 43 runs at strike rate 110.2, four fours and two sixes.

The matchup splits against the England attack: against Lauren Bell 23 off 21, against Sophie Ecclestone 31 off 28, against Charlie Dean 19 off 16, against Linsey Smith 17 off 14, against Heather Knight (part-time off-spin) 22 off 14, against Lauren Filer 18 off 14. The Knight matchup was the run-scoring zone — Mandhana used the inside-out drive against the right-arm off-spin and the slog-sweep against the line outside off.

The wagon wheel

Mandhana's shot map at the M Chinnaswamy showed a classic Indian opener distribution. 53 percent of her runs came through the off-side V (mid-off to extra cover). 28 percent came through the on-side V (mid-on to long-on). 19 percent came through the leg-side (square leg to fine leg).

The boundary count was 15 — 12 fours and 3 sixes. Of the 12 fours, eight came through cover. Of the three sixes, two were straight back over the bowler and one was over deep midwicket. The reverse-sweep was used twice — both against Charlie Dean's off-spin in the powerplay window.

The over she broke from Ecclestone

The 38th over of the India innings was bowled by Sophie Ecclestone. Mandhana was on 78 not out. Ecclestone's first ball was a stock left-arm spinner outside off — Mandhana let it go. The second was the arm-ball at off-stump — Mandhana drove for four through extra cover. The third was a leg-side flighted ball — Mandhana flicked for two. The fourth was the arm-ball again — Mandhana hit it back over the bowler for six. The fifth was a stock spinner with more flight — Mandhana came down the track and lofted for four over wide long-on.

The over went for 16. Ecclestone's economy in the match climbed from 4.2 to 4.9. Mandhana's strike rate jumped from 113 to 117.

The India total

India finished on 274 for 5 in 50 overs. Mandhana's 130 was the spine. Harmanpreet Kaur made 38 off 31. Richa Ghosh added 24 not out off 12 at the death. The death-overs hitting from Ghosh and Pooja Vastrakar (16 not out off 9) pushed India from 245 in the 47th over to 274 in the 50th.

The England bowling figures: Bell 1/49 in 10, Ecclestone 0/56 in 10, Dean 2/42 in 10, Smith 1/38 in 9, Filer 1/52 in 8. The economy of all five bowlers was above five.

The England chase falling apart

England chased 275 with Maia Bouchier (38) and Tammy Beaumont (54) doing the early work. The middle order — Heather Knight 19, Alice Capsey 24 — fell to Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav in the same 8-over window. England were 156 for 5 in the 32nd over and the chase fell apart from there.

Deepti finished with 3 for 41 in 10. Radha Yadav had 2 for 36 in 7. England were bowled out for 218 in the 46th over.

What it means for the series

India Women lead 1-0 in the three-match ODI series. The 2nd ODI is at Chepauk on May 17 and the 3rd at Wankhede on May 20. The home advantage is real — India Women have won 8 of their last 10 home ODI matches.

For England the read is that the new-ball wickets and the middle-overs choke didn't work against Mandhana. The Sophie Ecclestone-Charlie Dean spin pair will need to find a way to dismiss her early in the next match.

The forward view

Chepauk in May tends to grip more than M Chinnaswamy. The 2nd ODI on May 17 may see Deepti Sharma get the new ball and Radha Yadav come on early. England will need a fast start from the openers to put pressure on the home spin attack.

Smriti Mandhana's 9th ODI hundred takes her to within four hundreds of Mithali Raj's record of 13. At 29 she has another seven or eight years of ODI cricket left at peak. The record is within reach.

What to watch next: the 2nd ODI at Chepauk on May 17 — Deepti Sharma's new-ball role and the England top-order response.

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