England wrap up T20 series as India bowled out for 80
England beat India by four wickets to seal a T20 series win after a dismal batting performance from the hosts at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
India were bowled out for just 80 in 16.2 overs with only Jemimah Rodrigues’ 30 offering any resistance.
A superb all-round bowling effort saw every England bowler take a wicket, with four claiming two.
England made hard work of the chase, losing six wickets, before eventually winning inside 11.2 overs.
India put up a brave fight in defence of their low total as sloppy England slipped from 61-2 to 73-6.
Renuka Singh Thakur removed both England openers in the third over to finally bring the Mumbai crowd to life, with Danni Wyatt falling for a duck on the same day she earned a first Women’s Premier League (WPL) deal.
All-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt was bowled for 16, Alice Capsey spectacularly caught for 25 before Amy Jones needlessly reverse-swept Deepti Sharma straight to short fine leg and Freya Kemp was pinned lbw next ball.
But Sciver-Brunt and Capsey’s efforts had already broken the back of the chase and India’s efforts were in vain, paying the price for their own woeful batting collapse as Sophie Ecclestone hit the winning boundary.
England spinner Charlie Dean missed the first T20 through illness but made an immediate impact to have Shafali Verma pinned lbw from the second ball of the game.
Dean finished with 2-16, while fellow spinners Sarah Glenn and Sophie Ecclestone and seamer Lauren Bell also claimed two wickets.
The three-match series concludes on Sunday (13:30 GMT) at the same venue.
England captain Knight did not hesitate in thrusting off-spinner Dean straight back into the action after her stomach bug, giving her the responsibility of the first over to intimidating India openers Verma and Smriti Mandhana.
Verma struck a half-century in the series opener but was trapped on the crease by the crafty Dean, who then removed Mandhana in the same fashion two overs later.
India have an inexperienced batting line-up but their top order is solid, adding to England’s impressive efforts on a good batting pitch.
The top four were all dismissed lbw to demonstrate India’s apprehension to get on the front foot and attempt to attack, and ended the six-over powerplay 33-4 before Ecclestone and Glenn were ruthlessly introduced to finish the job.
Ecclestone backed up her three wickets in the opener with two more, including a stunning one-handed catch in her follow-through to get rid of Richa Ghosh, while Glenn ended number three Rodrigues’ fine effort.
Despite bowling dominance, England will be frustrated by a batting effort that should have been a lot smoother.
Sophia Dunkley’s top-order struggles continued as she was again bowled by Thakur, and Kemp was out to a tentative prod at the spin of Deepti.
Wyatt got an in-swinging beauty from Thakur and Capsey was caught by a stunning diving effort at cover from sub-fielder Amanjot Kaur.
Sciver-Brunt and Jones were then out to loose shots – though both played crucial knocks in the opening game, so will not cause too much concern for head coach Jon Lewis.
The result leaves India, a young but promising side in transition under a new coach, playing for pride by denying England a clean sweep. (BBC)
