The frenzied performance by England – 137-opening run partnership
The game began when England stand-in captain Tammy Beaumont surprisingly won the toss and put England to bat. This move has been justified in the first part, Women and it helped openers Tammy Beaumont and Sophia Dunkley to wonders. The two opened up the innings and were dismissed with a good 137 runs which helped to apply pressure on India.
The fireworks of Sophia Dunkley – 75 runs
Sophia Dunkley appeared not only as an aggressive starter, but also maintained a complete hold over the pitch. Her innings in which she made 75 helped her team win the match and was a stormy one with fours and sixes. Her innings helped England get a good score.
The innings of England came a cropper all of a sudden – 9 wickets in 25 balls
As soon as Sophia Dunkley was dismissed, England innings collapsed. The team lost nine wickets to 25 balls and could vainly add only 31 runs. This became the match changer. The Indian bowlers struck back and limited the run rate of the English team.
Superb innings of Danny Wyatt-Hodge – 66 runs
The next opening alliance was Danny Wyatt-Hodge who hit an outstanding innings of 66 runs. She and Dunkley did not allow Indian bowling to take the center stage. But, eventually when her wicket was gone, the upset on the balance of the team was caused.
Excellent bowling of Deepti Sharma – 3 wickets
Deepti Sharma did wonders with the ball for India. She played an important role in stopping England’s innings by taking 3 wickets. The special thing was that she provided breakthroughs at the right time so that India could make a comeback in the match.
Arundhati Reddy’s comeback – made a splash with 3 wickets
Arundhati Reddy, who returned to Team India after a long time, also made her mark. She took 3 wickets and destroyed the English middle order. Her yorkers and length balls troubled the batsmen.
England’s score – 171/9
After a great start, England’s team collapsed for 171 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. This score was challenging, but at one time it seemed that England would score 200+. India’s comeback made this target achievable.
India’s batting was lacking
India’s start was average while chasing the target. The openers could not start well, which put pressure on the run rate. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana could not play a big innings this time, due to which India had to struggle in the middle overs.
Middle order’s fight – but no success
Harleen Deol and Jemima Rodrigues raised some hopes for India, but the partnership kept breaking at the right time. India faltered after reaching close to the target and stopped at 166/8. Eventually lost by just 5 runs.
The series has come alive – now waiting for the decisive match
This victory in the 1st T20 series has placed England at par 1-1 with India. The third match will be now more important and focus will be fully on it whether the series winner is decided. Now both of the India as well as England teams will be in full force.
Conclusion:
This T20 match is proof that the competition and excitement in women’s cricket is no less than any men’s match. While England started with a bang, India showed amazing performance in bowling. Although there was a slight lapse in batting, the defeat of 5 runs is an indication that the match was a close one.
