Engw Vs Indw: India Beat England By 8 Runs In 2nd T20i, Level The Series At 1-1

Aggressive opener Shafali Verma’s stormy innings and tight bowling from the spinners helped India level the three-match series 1-1 after beating England by eight runs in the second Women’s T20 International here on Sunday. The third T20 will be played on 14 July in Chelmsford.

Shafali Verma (48 off 38 balls) and Smriti Mandhana (20 off 16 balls) put on 70 runs for the first wicket but India came under pressure as the two slowed down and returned to the pavilion within two runs. India scored 148 for four, with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur contributing 31 runs with the help of two fours and two sixes and Deepti Sharma contributing 24 not out off 27 balls.

Tammy Beaumont (59 runs off 50 balls) and captain Heather Knight (30 runs off 28 balls) put England on 75 runs for the third wicket to get the team out of the initial blow. India got a chance to come back after both of them were out on consecutive balls. England’s score was 106 runs for two wickets till the 14th over but in the end they could manage only 140 runs for eight wickets.

For India, leg-spinner Poonam Yadav took two for 17 in four overs and off-spinner Deepti Sharma took one wicket for 18 runs while Sneh Rana gave only 21 runs in four overs. In this way, these three spinners gave only 56 runs in 12 overs and took three wickets.

Arundhati Reddy got India off to a good start by dismissing Danny White (3) in his first over. Richa Ghosh gave India a big breakthrough by running out in-form Natalie Sciver (a) on a straight throw. England, however, managed to score 52 runs in the powerplay thanks to Beaumont’s efforts.

Beaumont completed his ninth fifty in T20 Internationals off 39 balls. Deepti Sharma broke his partnership with Knight by getting him out leg before. Knight was run out on the next ball while Sophia Dunkley (four) could not hold on, giving India a chance to come back. Beaumont hit seven fours and Knight hit four fours in his innings.

The Indian spinners then tightened the noose and kept the series alive. Shefali hit a six over deep midwicket off Sophie Ecclestone and then hit five consecutive fours in the next over from Katherine Brunt. India’s score was 47 for no loss after four overs but Shefali could only score one run in the next 11 balls, which took the team to 49 runs in the powerplay.

Mandhana broke the silence in the eighth over by hitting Sarah Glenn (1 for 32) for a six over mid-off but Freya Davis (1 for 31) in the next over gave a simple catch at cover off a slow delivery.

Heather Knight made frequent changes in the bowling and Shefali could not complete her half-century. He tried to play a big shot by coming ‘across the line’ in the first over of off-spinner Maddie Villiers (one for nine), but Nate Sciver ended his innings by taking a fine catch.

Now Harmanpreet was in charge. He showed his intentions by hitting Villiers for a six, but Glenn stopped Harmanpreet’s storm before the death overs. After hitting a six on the first ball, he played a long shot on the next ball too but Brunt dived at long off and converted it into a catch.

India failed to score runs at the pace required in the last four overs. In the meantime, he hit two fours and a six and lost the wicket of Richa Ghosh (eight). Sneh Rana remained unbeaten on eight runs. Sciver took one wicket for 20 runs in four overs.