India, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, sealed a historic, first-ever T20I series win against England, in England, by clinching the 4th T20I by 6 wickets at Manchester. Radha Yadav was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning spell (4-0-15-2) with the ball for her side in the game, playing a crucial role as India sealed a memorable win.
The home side, England, made as many as three changes: Maia Bouchier replacing Alice Capsey, Emily Arlott replacing Lauren Filer, and Linsey Smith replacing Lauren Bell in the side for the final game of the series. India, on the other hand, handed a T20I debut to the 21-year-old young pacer Kranti Goud; she replaced Amanjot Kaur, while Harleen Deol replaced Sneh Rana in the starting 11 for the Women in Blue for the final game of the series.
Indian spinners continue to exploit the weak links in the English batting order
India got off to a disappointing start, losing both the in-form batters Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues inside the first three overs of the innings, after skipper Tammy Beaumont won the toss and opted to bowl first in the final game of the series at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined opening batter Shafali Verma at the crease, and the duo bailed their side out of trouble with a massive and much-needed 66-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Charlie Dean got the big scalp of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (15 off 18 balls) in the 10th over of the innings to provide the crucial 3rd breakthrough for England.
India eventually managed 81 runs in their last 10 overs, posting the highest total of 167/7 in their quota of 20 overs on the back of crucial contributions from Shafali Verma (75 off 41 balls), scoring her 11th half-century in the format. Richa Ghosh (24 off 16 balls), Radha Yadav (14* off 14 balls), and Arundhati Reddy (9* off 5 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for India. It was also the highest score at Edgbaston in Women’s T20Is.
Charlie Dean (4-0-23-3), Sophie Ecclestone (4-0-28-2), and Linsey Smith (4-0-26-1) were the stand-out performers with the ball for England.
England survive a scare courtesy of a remarkable Indian fightback
Chasing a record target of 168, the England openers Sophia Dunkley and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge finally found their free-flowing rhythm as they stitched a massive 101-run opening stand, giving their side a solid start. Radha Yadav cleaned up Sophia Dunkley (46 off 30 balls) to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for India in the 11th over of the run chase.
Deepti Sharma soon ended Danielle Wyatt-Hodge’s (56 off 37 balls) ominous stay at the crease, playing her 300th game for England, she scored her 21st T20I half-century before getting dismissed in the 12th over of the run chase to bring India firmly back into the contest. Skipper Tammy Beaumont joined Maia Bouchier at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 32-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, taking them closer to the target.
Deepti Sharma returned and broke the stand, by sending Maia Bouchier (16 off 17 balls) back to the pavilion in the 16th over of the innings, to provide the timely 3rd breakthrough for her side. The Indian bowlers scripted a remarkable fightback to take the game to the final ball of the run chase, almost pulling off a heist, if not for the Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana missing out on a direct hit and Arundhati Reddy’s brilliant final over with just a run-a-ball needed.
England eventually got over the line in an edge-of-the-seat thriller by 5 wickets to end the T20I series on a high. Skipper Tammy Beaumont (30 off 20 balls) chipped in with a handy contribution with the bat for her side, with Amy Jones (10 off 12 balls) playing her part with the bat for her side. Deepti Sharma (4-0-31-2), Arundhati Reddy (4-0-47-2), and Radha Yadav (4-0-20-1) were impressive with the ball for India. Shree Charani (4-0-35-0) went wicket-less in her spell.
Charlie Dean was awarded the Player of the Match for her exceptional spell (4-0-23-3) with the ball for her side, playing a crucial role as England signed off the T20I series with a win to make the scoreline 3-2 in an enthralling series. The 20-year-old youngster Shree Charani, ending as the leading wicket-taker in her debut series with 10 wickets at an average of 14.80 and an economy of 7.46 in five innings, including a 4-wicket haul (4/12) in her spell on her T20I debut in the 1st game of the series, earned her the much-deserved accolade of the Player of the Series.
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