England, led by the stand-in skipper Tammy Beaumont, kept the 5-match T20I series alive by clinching the 3rd T20I by 5 runs in an edge-of-the-seat thriller at the Kennington Oval, London. The home side suffered a significant blow as they learned about the news of their regular skipper, Nat Sciver-Brunt, being ruled out of the remainder of the 5-match T20I series.
Both sides retained the same 11 that took the field in the previous game of the series.
Indian spinners continue the exploits
The England openers Danielle Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley got their side off to a quick start, with a 21-run opening partnership, after skipper Tammy Beaumont won the toss and opted to bat first in the 4th T20I at the Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Shree Charani broke the stand by sending Dani Wyatt-Hodge back to the pavilion in the 3rd over of the innings, providing the first breakthrough for India.
Sophia Dunkley (22 off 19 balls) soon followed her back to the pavilion in the final over of the powerplay to provide the 2nd breakthrough for India. Skipper Tammy Beaumont joined Alice Capsey at the crease, and the pair stitched a crucial 35-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take the home side past the 50-run mark. Radha Yadav got the big wicket of the opposition skipper Tammy Beaumont (20 off 19 balls) in the 11th over of the innings to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side.
A 23-run 5th wicket partnership between Paige Scholfield (16 off 18 balls) and wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones, and a brisk unbeaten 25-run partnership for the 8th wicket between Sophie Ecclestone (16* off 10 balls) and Issy Wong (11* off 10 balls) provided the finishing touches as England posted a respectable total of 126/7 in their quota of 20 overs, on what seemed like a slightly tricky pitch. Alice Capsey (18 off 21 balls) was the only other batter to enter the double digits with the bat for the home side.
Radha Yadav (4-0-15-2), Shree Charani (4-0-30-2), Amanjot Kaur (4-0-20-1) and Deepti Sharma (4-0-29-1), who also completed her 300 International wickets landmark, were impressive with the ball for India.
India lose openers after perfect start
Chasing a target of 127, the Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana took the attack to the English new-ball bowlers en route to their 56-run opening stand. The pair scored at a rate of 8 runs an over. Charlie Dean broke the dangerous stand by sending Shafali Verma (31 off 19 balls), who was threatening to roll over the major chunk of the total in a canter, back to the pavilion in the 7th over of the run chase to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for England.
The Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (32 off 31 balls) soon followed her back to the pavilion after a composed knock to provide the 2nd breakthrough for England. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease, and the pair took them in the driver’s seat with a vital 48-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, taking them closer to the 120-run mark.
Issy Wong picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (26 off 25 balls) in the 16th over of the run chase to provide the 3rd breakthrough for England. The visitors, India, eventually got over the line with 6 wickets in hand and 3 overs to spare. Jemimah Rodrigues (24* off 22 balls) stayed unbeaten to guide India over the line as they sealed a memorable T20I series win against England with a game to go in the series.
Sophie Ecclestone (4-0-20-1), Issy Wong (3-0-18-1) and Charlie Dean (4-0-29-1) were the top performers with the ball for England. Radha Yadav was awarded the Player of the Match for her impactful match figures (4-0-15-2) in her spell with the ball for India as they bag the T20I series 3-1 with a game in hand.
I am Yash Tailor, and I believe work should be driven by passion. Therefore, after completing my Engineering, I chose to work in the Cricket industry, my passion. My goal is to reach a stage where I truly enjoy what I do and give my best to every task with energy and purpose.