Registering a landmark victory, India won their first-ever Women’s T20I series against England with a six-wicket victory in the fourth match in which spinners played a major role. India have now taken a 3-1 lead in the five-match series. The final match is scheduled to be held in Birmingham on Saturday.
Since India defeated England in their only T20I match in Derby in 2006. the women’s team has fallen short in every T20I series against England, both in India and abroad.
Spin played a match-winning role in India's win on Wednesday as Radha Yadav (2/15), 20-year-old Shree Charani (2/30) and Deepti Sharma (1/29) together claimed five wickets, restricting the hosts to 126 for 7.
Chasing the low total, openers Shafali Verma (32) and Smriti Mandhana (31) put on a 56-run stand, which laid the groundwork for the victory. The visitors reached the target with 18 balls to spare. This win has come as a big boost for India. It has helped them adapt to English conditions ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled to be held here next year.
“We are really grateful that we were able to achieve this. I’m really proud of my team the way we played this series. It was really important to get that momentum and I’m happy the way we all contributed. We had very good camps back home before coming here. We worked on all our plans and executed everything here. Everybody knew their role and performed it accordingly,” India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said at the post-match presentation.
The Indian women’s team has been in tremendous form. They defeated England by 97 runs in the series opener before registering a 24-run win in Bristol, where England women lost a T20I for the first time. India, however, lost the third T20I by a slender margin of five runs.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, England found themselves under pressure early on as Indian spinners Radha and Deepti removed both the openers within the powerplay.
Stand-in captain Tammy Beaumont, who was leading the English side in the absence of the injured Nat Sciver-Brunt, scored a 16-ball 20, including three boundaries, before she fell to Radha. Five balls later, Charani trapped Alice Capsey leg-before, leaving England struggling at 93 for 5. India’s sharp fielding bowlers in the middle overs also kept English batsmen on the back foot.
Chasing the target, India put up an impressive performance with Shafali hitting six boundaries and Mandhana smashing five fours. Though both openers fell in quick succession, they had laid the foundation already. Jemimah Rodrigues (24 not out) and Harmanpreet Kaur (26) comfortably steered India home.
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