India were reduced to 31/3 in 5.1 overs after being asked to bat first. In the run chase, England were reduced to 17/3 by 3.3 overs. Both teams were off to nightmare starts in Bristol in the second T20I, but it was India who recovered from the early setbacks to post a match-winning total of 181/4 while hosts England fell short by 24 runs at their fortress in Bristol. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side took a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Compared to the first T20I, England brought a much-improved energy to the middle, setting the tone with their fielding from the word go. On her comeback trail, Shafali Verma struggled once more, pegged by a rising short delivery from Lauren Filer. Lauren Bell then took a superb high catch to end the last match’s centurion innings as Smriti Mandhana fell for 13. Harmanpreet, on her return to the XI, was out for one as India struggled early on a dry pitch.
Then started the fantastic partnership between Amanjot Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues, who took their time to steady the ship before stepping up on the pedal steadily. Their 55-ball 93 was dominated by Rodrigues, who used a slightly open stance early on in her innings to take on England’s pacers. The Mumbai batter usually employs a perfectly side-on stance, but on Tuesday, she put her left foot facing the non-striker’s, and Heather Knight – on commentary duties – said she was trying to add more power to her game. She also played scoops as well when England bowlers used a change of pace.
And at the other end, Amanjot played second fiddle to Rodrigues early on, but one over from Sophie Ecclestone changed the momentum for the allrounder. Riding the bounce that the tall left-arm spinner gets, she hit three cut shots for fours, precisely opening up the field on the offside in a masterful exhibition of backfoot play on the offside. The finishing touch then came from Richa Ghosh, who smashed a 20-ball 32 to power India to a significantly above-par total.
Highlights
England’s chase got off to the worst possible start as Sophia Dunkley was run out in the first over, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge fell at the start of the second – Deepti Sharma was involved in both dismissals. The loss of Nat Sciver-Brunt in the fourth over was a major blow for England as Amanjot ensured her player of the match award by picking up the most important England wicket, to go with her career-best knock.
Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones provided brief hope for England, with the former scoring a 35-ball 54 but a brilliant piece of fielding by Sneh Rana resulted in another costly run out. From there, India’s win appeared to be a formality despite some loose bowling at the death.
Brief scores: India 181/4 (Jemimah Rodrigues 63, Amanjot Kaur 63, Lauren Bell 2/17) beat England 157/7 (Tammy Beaumont 54, Amy Jones 32, Shree Charani 2/28) by 24 runs
