England defeated India by five runs in an exciting warm-up match ahead of the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in Cardiff. While England came out on top, both teams will be happy with the valuable match practice before the tournament begins.
England scored 171 for 6 after being asked to bat first. Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt played a steady innings of 57 runs from 45 balls and helped build the innings. Opener Amy Jones continued her good form and scored 64 runs from 45 balls. In the final overs, Dani Gibson played a quick unbeaten knock of 30 runs from just 12 balls, helping England finish strongly.
This exciting contest is the kind of sporting action that fans who follow Diamond Exchange 99 enjoy watching as teams prepare for major tournaments.
For India, the bowlers had mixed results. Harmanpreet Kaur returned to the playing XI after missing the first warm-up match. Shafali Verma was once again given an over with the new ball, while Renuka Thakur conceded 44 runs. Kranti Gaud impressed with her fuller deliveries and troubled the England batters at different stages of the innings.
Chasing 172, India had a poor start as Smriti Mandhana was dismissed for just 1 run. The other top-order batters got starts but could not convert them into big scores. With India struggling, Richa Ghosh produced a brilliant counter-attack from No. 6. She smashed 68 runs off only 36 balls, including nine fours and two sixes, and almost took India to victory.
Her aggressive batting kept India in the game until the final over. With six runs needed from the last three balls, Ghosh was stumped while trying to accelerate. England spinner Linsey Smith bowled well under pressure and finished with three wickets.
Fans following women’s cricket on Diamond Exchange 99 would have enjoyed the thrilling finish, as the match went right down to the final moments.
England also used the game to test their squad combinations. Alice Capsey kept wickets during India’s chase instead of Amy Jones, giving the team a chance to assess their backup wicketkeeper. Several players, including Jemimah Rodrigues, Lauren Bell, Arundhati Reddy, Sophia Dunkley and Heather Knight, were rested for this warm-up fixture.
Both teams will now travel to Birmingham for their opening matches of the Women’s T20 World Cup. England will face Sri Lanka on June 12, while India will begin their campaign against Pakistan on June 14 at Edgbaston.
As the tournament gets closer, performances like Richa Ghosh’s will give fans and followers of Diamond Exchange 99 plenty to look forward to in the coming days.