England suffered a chastening pre-T20 World Cup defeat as they were completely outplayed by India in a 38-run defeat in Chelmsford.

Chasing 189 to win, England stuttered to 150-8 as questions remain around their batting line-up before the tournament begins in June.

Openers Alice Capsey and Sophia Dunkley fell cheaply before Amy Jones made a fluent 67 from 48 balls, but the run-rate climbed out of control as they collapsed from 120-3.

The returns of Danni Wyatt-Hodge from maternity leave and Nat Sciver-Brunt from injury cannot come soon enough for England's stuttering top order.

Extras also proved a big difference, with England giving away 21 compared to India's three.

Lauren Bell gave England the perfect start with two wickets in the first over, including star batter Smriti Mandhana from the first ball of the innings before Shafali Verma fell for two.

But Jemimah Rodrigues and Yastika Bhatia remained unflustered, taking 27 from the second over bowled by Issy Wong to kickstart their counter-attacking third-wicket stand of 126.

England's standards in the field slipped again when they were under pressure, but stand-in skipper Charlie Dean led an encouraging fightback by removing both set batters in the 14th over.

Bhatia was run out for 54 and Rodrigues was caught and bowled for 69 as India slipped from 133-2 to 148-6, including debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman's first T20 wicket as Richa Ghosh was superbly caught by Wong.

But Deepti Sharma, so often a thorn in England's side, struck four boundaries in her 22 from 13 balls at the death to ensure India's middle overs brilliance was not in vain as they finished on 188-7.

The three-match series continues at Bristol on Saturday, where Wyatt-Hodge is in contention to feature for the first time this summer.

Without Sciver-Brunt's experience and calming presence, England's batters look scrambled and they have little time to iron out the creases.

Dunkley continued to attack at the top of the order, launching Kranti Gaud for an enormous six down the ground in the second over, but was caught at mid-on two balls later trying to repeat the dose.

Capsey also fell to Gaud for six, and is expected to make way for Wyatt-Hodge as opener, but former captain Heather Knight's middle-order form leaves a big decision for head coach Charlotte Edwards.

This was Knight's 310th appearance, overtaking Edwards' own England record, but her 24-ball 21 piled the pressure on all-rounders Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson as they came in needing to score at 10-an-over from the get-go.

She only managed two fours, which led to Kemp holing out for eight and Gibson caught on the boundary first ball, as England collapsed and India's fielders again displayed their remarkable improvement over the past couple of years, holding on to all of their chances with impressive calmness.

The return to form of Jones is one box ticked for now, as she found fluency from a new position at three, but even that change of order suggests England and Edwards are still unsure of their best approach.

With the flagship home World Cup just a few weeks away, England desperately need to find their formula before their opener on 12 June.