This video can not be played India inflict heavy defeat on England in first T20 For so long, it has felt inconceivable to not have Heather Knight as the first name on the England team sheet. Yet on the day she became the most-capped England women's cricketer, former captain Knight's T20 form continued to concern just three weeks before a World Cup on home soil.

England were outclassed with both bat and ball in the first game of their three-match T20 series against India, but Knight's 21 from 24 balls stalled England's progress in pursuit of 189 to win. Amy Jones hit a 32-ball 50 but when 35-year-old Knight was dismissed in the 14th over after a tortuous knock which contained 11 dot balls, England had fallen so far behind the rate they needed more than 13 an over.

"Knight going at less than a run a ball added pressure on Amy Jones, so she's slowed down trying to wallop absolutely every ball to the boundary, and the lack of boundaries means England have fallen behind," said former England spinner Alex Hartley on Test Match Special. "It is a little bit of a concern. If you think about where Heather was a year ago, she was striking the ball so cleanly."

Though openers Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey fell cheaply, they did not waste many balls - Dunkley made 16 from 10 and Capsey six from five. Experienced opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge is available for the next T20 at Bristol on Saturday, having been on maternity leave, and she will likely replace Capsey at the top of the order.

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It would be a huge call for Edwards to drop Knight, who made a record 310th England appearance at Chelmsford, for such an important summer. Hartley said her top three would consist of Wyatt-Hodge, Capsey and Sciver-Brunt, keeping Knight in the middle order and with Dunkley missing out.

However, Dunkley is one of few England batters capable of clearing the ropes, which is an area in which they are lacking. Since the last T20 World Cup in 2024, Dunkley has hit 11 sixes and Wyatt-Hodge five. They are the only batters in England's top seven to have hit more than three sixes in that timeframe.

Explosive all-rounders Dani Gibson and Freya Kemp were tasked with scoring at more than 10 runs per over by the time they came in, having been in a very similar position during England's defeat by New Zealand at Canterbury. On both occasions, they fell cheaply trying to score quickly from ball one because of the pressure that had built when Knight was batting.

The argument to stick with Knight is not helped by the fact her attacking shot percentage has dropped to 64% in 2026 compared to 75% between 2023 and 2025. "I don't think Charlotte Edwards will want to drop one of the all-rounders," Hartley added. "She's a huge all-rounder fan and she wants that left-hander in Kemp as well."

Former England Test captain Nasser Hussain backed Knight to deliver because of her wealth of experience, but accepted there needs to be an improvement. "I back Heather because she has been a world-class player for a long time," Hussain said on Sky Sports. "Under pressure you need people like Heather Knight, but she will know her last four innings, particularly today, to a get a run-a-ball 20 after three run-a-ball 20s - you are better getting out for a first-ball duck than getting that. "She didn't play T20 internationals for a year. Maybe she is taking time to get going. "She is not as mobile. She is not someone like Jemimah Rodrigues who is putting away the bad balls and looks a lot busier, but she has been around long enough to know that is not the innings you need in a 180 run-chase."

Below-par England outplayed by India in opening T20 England slump to heavy defeat against dominant India - as it happened.