Brief Scores
India: 148/4 (Harmanpreet Kaur 31 runs, Shafali Verma 48 runs, Natalie Sciver 1-20)
England: 140/8 (Heather Knight 30 runs, Tammy Beaumont 59 runs, Poonam Yadav 2-17)
Teams
India (Playing XI): Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Arundhati Reddy, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh(w), Sneh Rana, Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol
England (Playing XI): Heather Knight(c), Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Natalie Sciver, Danielle Wyatt, Amy Ellen Jones(w), Sophie Ecclestone, Mady Villiers, Sarah Glenn, Katherine Brunt, Freya Davies
That is it! #TeamIndia pull it back and win the 2nd T20I against England by 8 runs to level the series 1-1. 🎇 #ENGvIND https://t.co/A5JidVJbAP… pic.twitter.com/YReBjMFyGp
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 11, 2021
On Sunday, India defeated England by eight runs in the second T20I of the three-match series at the County Ground, Hove. Thanks to a late recovery by the spinners Poonam Yadav and Sneh Rana.
India has remained in the series with this victory, and if they can win the last match, the scoreboard would be even. The series is currently 8-6 in England’s favor, and the final will be played on Wednesday.
England’s chase for 149 got off to a terrible commencement as opener Danni Wyatt (3 runs) was sent back to the stands in the second spell of Arundhati Reddy’s bowling. Natalie Sciver (1 run) was run-out in the third over, reducing England’s score to 31/2.
Tammy Beaumont, on the other hand, kept wreaking havoc, and England’s score towards the end of the powerplay overs was 52/2. The hosts needed 69 runs off the final ten overs to win. Hence, the skipper, Heather Knight, and Beaumont kept the scoreboard ticking.
Beaumont and Knight scored 75 runs for the third wicket. However, Beaumont’s (59 runs) dismissal by Deepti Sharma in the 14th over brought the stand to an end. Knight (30 runs) was removed soon after, reducing England to 106/4, still requiring 43 runs to quench victory.
The hosts needed 24 runs from the final three overs to achieve victory as England continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. In the last overs, Sneh Rana and Poonam held their nerves tight, allowing India to win by eight runs.
Harmanpreet Kaur and Shafali Verma had earlier contributed 31 and 48 runs, respectively, to India’s score of 148/4 in the allocated twenty overs. India got off to a roaring start when they were sent into bat, with openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana putting up 49 runs in the opening six overs.
Mandhana, who scored 20 runs, was sent back to the pavilion by Freya Davies in the ninth over, bringing skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to the crease.
Shafali (48) tried for a huge shot in the next over, but she only managed to deliver a catch to Nat Sciver, reducing India to 72/2 in the 10th over. Harmanpreet Singh, who has been out of form for the last few series, shone in the middle.
To keep the run-flow going for India, she hauled out her classic huge shots. However, Harmanpreet (31) was bowled out in the 16th over by Sarah Glenn, reducing India to 112/3.
Towards the end, English bowlers were able to keep a stranglehold on India’s batters, reducing the visitors’ total to just 150 runs. Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana stayed undefeated for India with scores of 24 and 8, respectively.
