Shafali Verma Sparks India’s Seven-Wicket Win in Indw Vs En-w
India opened indw vs en-w with a seven-wicket win over the ECB Development XI in Chelmsford on May 25, 2026, and Shafali Verma drove the chase with a 25-ball fifty. The result gave India a clean start to its England tour preparation before the three-match T20I tour of England.
Verma sets the chase
Shafali finished with a 25-ball 50, and her 77-run stand with Yastika Bhatia off 42 balls pulled India through the target with three overs to spare. Yastika returned to the side and fell just short of her own fifty, while Smriti Mandhana gave the chase an early burst with 15 runs in the first over.
India did not need long to take control. The opening partnership took the edge off the chase, and when Mandhana was dismissed after slicing a full toss from Clara Thaker to Liberty Heap, the platform had already been laid for the finish.
India bowlers strike early
The bowlers put the ECB Development XI under pressure from the start and reduced it to 16/3 in the third over. Arundhati Reddy did the early damage by taking two wickets in her first over, removing Tilly Kesteven and Bethan Gammon off consecutive deliveries.
That early burst left the hosts rebuilding from a deep hole, but Ariana Dowse and Florence Miller added 52 runs off the next 49 balls to steady the innings. The ECB Development XI still finished on 154/6, a total India overhauled with room to spare.
Chelmsford warm-up value
The match was the first of two warm-up games before India’s three-match T20I tour of England, and it also started the side’s build-up for the Women’s T20 World Cup preparations in England. Bharti Fulmali batted at number 4 in Harmanpreet Kaur’s absence after Kaur received her Padma Shri from President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi.
For India, the useful part was the shape of the win: new batting combinations, quick wickets up front, and a chase finished without needing the full allocation. That is the kind of start teams want before a short tour begins to tighten after one off-day.
