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Bangalore: Captain Jhulan Goswami and Gouhar Sultana grabbed three wickets each as Indian women thumped world champions England by 35 runs in the low-scoring first game of five-match ODI series on Friday.
Pacer Jhulan (3/16) and left-arm spinner Gouhar (3/36) shared most of the spoils as India defended a modest 199 for five by bundling out England for 164 in 45 overs.
Earlier, Mithali Raj (62) and Priyanka Roy's (69 not out) struck half centuries as India made 199 for five in 50 overs after electing to bat.
Chasing 200 for a win, England struggled on a slow-paced M Chinnaswamy stadium deck and managed a meek 164, giving India their 21st victory in 48 contests.
The visitors recovered through a sedate 38-run partnership between Charlotte Edwards and Ebony Rainford-Brent for the second wicket.
With runs hard to come by, Edwards chose to break from the Indian shackles only to see Anagha Deshpande bring off a smart stumping off Amita Sharma.
England lost their bearings when the industrious Ebony Rainford-Brent (64) and Lydia Greenway (35) fell in quick succession at 99 and 100.
The rest of the batters had no clue against the guile of Gouhar, who was arguably the most impressive bowler of the day.
Pacer Rumeli Dhar chipped in with wickets for 23. Earlier, India recovered from a wobbly 63 for four in the 20th over to reach 199 from their 50 overs thanks to a 100-run stand for the fifth wicket between Mithali and Priyanka.
Medium pacers Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole, Jenny Gunn and Nicola Shaw had put England by removing the four Indian top order batswomen before Mithali and Priyanka combined forces to extricate India out of the woods.
Mithali, around whom the Indian innings revolved, eventually fell in the 45th over, holing out to Lydia Greenway at mid-on off skipper Charollete Edwards. She struck two boundaries in her 116-ball stint at the wicket.
India rattled up 36 runs in the batting power play as Priyanka and Amita Sharma (12 not out) threw their bats around and ran hard between the wickets.
The two sides face each other on Sunday for the second ODI at the same venue.
