Mumbai desk, June 26: India lost the first T20I against England by 33 runs at St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury.

Asked to bat first, England posted 137 for the loss of five wickets in their stipulated 20 overs. Debutant N Niranjana trapped England skipper Charlotte Edwards lbw in the second over to leave the hosts at one for the loss of one wicket. Laura Marsh (41) and Sarah Taylor (69) then added 104 runs until Gouhar Sultana bowled the former to break the partnership. The left-arm spinner followed that strike up with the scalp of Taylor in her next over. Archana Das claimed Lydia Greenway in the penultimate over and Arran Brindle was run out off the last ball of the innings as England set the visitors a competitive target.

Chasing 138, India lost openers Amita Sharma and Poonam Raut early on. Pace bowler Katherine Brunt claimed both openers to give the hosts the edge. Skipper Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur tried to rescue the Indian innings but their partnership was ended for 30 runs by Holly Colvin who dismissed the Indian vice-captain. Veda Krishnamurthy, who replaced her in the middle, followed her back after contributing just one run to the chase. Wicketkeeper Sulakshana Naik, who joined the India skipper at the crease, helped add 25 runs before Raj was sent back to the dressing room by Marsh, taking the game away from India. Naik was the next to return to the pavilion caught by Greenway off Jenny Gunn leaving the visitors 104 for six with just 12 balls left. Danielle Wyatt then picked the wickets of Mona Meshram and Jhulan Goswami in the last over, handing the hosts victory.

Brief scores: England 137/5 in 20 overs (S Taylor 69, L Marsh 41, G Sultana 2/21) beat India 104/8 in 20 overs (M Raj 26, S Naik 25, D Wyatt 2/10 and K Brunt 2/21) by 33 runs

Player-of-the-Match: S Taylor for her match-winning 69 runs