BRISTOL: Fighting half-centuries by Jemimah Rodrigues (63, 41b, 9×4, 1×6) and Player of the Match Amanjot Kaur (63 not out, 40b, 9×4, 1-28 in three overs) and their 93-run stand for the fourth wicket in just 55 balls helped the Indian women’s team down England by 24 runs in the second match of the T20I series at the Seat Unique Stadium on Tuesday night.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Continuing their fine show, the Indian Women’s team thus took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Having beaten the hosts in the first T20I by a record margin of 97 runs, India now have the chance to wrap up a rare T20I series win over England in England and make history when they play the hosts on Friday (July 4) in the third T20I at The Kia Oval in London in a night match.It was the first time that England lost a Women’s T20 International at Bristol.
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Asked to bat first by the hosts, the Indian Women’s team out up a formidable score of 181 for four in 20 overs – the second highest WT20I total at Bristol – which looked highly unlikely when it slumped to 31 for three in the sixth over, as opener Shafali Verma (3), last match’s centurion and in-form batter Smriti Mandhana (13) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (1), returning after missing the first match due to a head injury she suffered in the warm-up match, were out cheaply.
Playing in her landmark 150th T20I, Mandhana stroked two boundaries in her first four deliveries, making her and Shafali the most successful pair in terms of most runs as an opening partnership in Women’s T20Is history. However, the Indian vice-captain succumbed to a brilliant catch by Lauren Bell off Em Arlott.However, Rodrigues and Amanjot, who had only scored 92 runs in 13 T20Is with 41 not out being her highest score, completely changed the complexion of the match, thus bringing alive the sizeable number of Indian supporters in the nearly 15,000 crowd here.After Rodrigues, who stroked a 33-ball half-century, was out in the 15th over, explosive ‘keeper-bat Richa Ghosh blasted a quickfire 32 not out (20b, 6×4), adding 57 in an unbeaten fifth wicket partnership in 34 balls, giving the perfect finishing touches to the innings as India plundered 117 in the final 10 overs even as they were 64 for three after 10 overs. During her cameo, Ghosh, playing her 64th T20I, crossed the 1000-run landmark in WT20Is. For England, pacer Lauren Bell was the standout with the ball, taking two for 17 in four overs.India then put in a spirited show with the ball to restrict the England women’s team to 157 for seven in 20 overs. Like India, England too suffered a bad collapse at the start of their innings, as they slumped to 17 for three in the fourth over, with Sophia Dunkley (1), the out-of-form Danni Wyatt-Hodge and new skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt (13) all losing their wickets early in the piece. The key wicket of Sciver-Brunt was scalped by Amanjot Kaur, who had the England captain caught at mid-on by her counterpart Harmanpreet Kaur.Wyatt-Hodge ended her run of three successive ducks, but was out for just one when she was caught at mid-off off Deepti Sharma, second time in a row that she had succumbed to Deepti’s off-spin.Tammy Beaumont (54, 35b, 8×4, 1×6) and ‘keeper-bat Amy Jones (32, 27b, 4×4) added 70 in just 49 balls for the fourth wicket to stage a fightback, but a fine piece of pick up and throw at point by Sneh Rana ended the dangerous-looking partnership. Towards the end, seasoned left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone (35, 23b, 4×4, 1×6) used the long handle, but India had the game in control.Left-arm spinner Shree Charani, who took four for 12 on her T20I debut in the first match, once again produced an outstanding show, returning figures of two for 28 in four overs.After the match, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team gladly posed for pictures with India’s Mixed Disability team, which had earlier in the day played a match against its English counterparts at the same venue, losing by seven wickets.
Brief Scores:India 181-4 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 63, Amanjot Kaur not out 63, Richa Ghosh 32 not out; Lauren Bell 2-17) beat England 157-7 in 20 overs (Tammy Beaumont 54, Sophie Ecclestone 35, Amy Jones 32; Shree Charani 2-28) by 24 runs.
