HOVE: Amy Jones, the acting captain of England, lamented the team's seven-wicket loss to India in the opening ODI at Hove due to a lack of runs and frequent wicket losses. Alice Davidson-Richards' first ODI half-century helped England, who were asked to bat first but never got going, to score 227 in the first innings.

While India kept England in check with consistent blows, cameos from Sophie Ecclestone (31), Sophia Dunkley (29), and Charlie Dean (29 not out) offered England something to bowl at. Deepti Sharma took two wickets, while veteran Jhulan Goswami had a fantastic spell of 1/20 in her 10 overs.

With the help of a stunning catch from Charlie, pacer Kate Cross was able to dismiss Shafali Verma early in the defence of 227. However, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana led the chase with a five-91 and had assistance from captain Harmanpreet Kaur (74) and Yastika Bhatia (50) to help India cross the finish line and grab a 1-0 series lead.

"Disappointing. The biggest issue was that we didn't have enough runs. To give us a chance, Alice batted well in the middle and at the end. But during the powerplay, we only managed to get one wicket, falling short of what we required." "We believed the surface to be more difficult, but India bowled effectively and put us under strain. After that, it was difficult to get moving until we formed that relationship with Alice and Soph (Sophie Ecclestone). Regular wickets cost us," said Amy after the match ended.

Former England men's fast bowler Steven Finn commended the Indian bowling attack for keeping the hosts on a very tight leash and then chasing down the target with 34 balls to spare in a post-match interview with Sky Sports.

"England will reflect on it in the future and feel that not enough significant partnerships were formed. They got rolling and started to make threats about forming a partnership that may help them reach a significant sum, but they never succeeded. Both their intentions and their execution with the ball were excellent from India." "In contrast, India had a lot of energy at the top of the order with Bhatia and the two seasoned campaigners Mandhana and Harmanpreet. They had a fantastic working relationship that ended the pursuit." The second ODI, which is scheduled for Wednesday, will now be played in Canterbury.

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