Freya Kemp starred with bat and ball as England secured a series-levelling T20 victory over India by 26 runs in Bristol.
Kemp came to the crease with England floundering on 116-4 after 16.4 overs but hammered an inspired 39 runs in 13 balls to help the hosts finish 168-5 after 20 overs.
India looked on course to chase down 169 for victory on 70-1 but were derailed twice by Kemp as she dismissed Smriti Mandhana for 32 and the dangerous Jemimah Rodrigues for one.
It dealt a fatal blow to India’s run chase as they were limited to 142-9 in 20 overs as England bounced back from their series-opening defeat in Chelmsford and set up a winner-takes-all decider in Taunton on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports.
England take India to T20 decider
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Sophia Dunkley’s struggles continue as wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh takes razor-sharp catch.
A sluggish start to England’s innings was compounded when Sophia Dunkley edged behind off Nandini Sharma, with wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh taking a razor-sharp catch to leave the hosts 21-1 at the start of the fifth over.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge, on her return from maternity leave, led England’s fightback, smashing three fours in a handy 29 off 25 balls before she was sent on her way when she slashed Shree Charani into the hands of Mandhana at short third.
Charani proved a constant thorn in England’s side, dismissing Amy Jones after she had picked up the baton from Wyatt-Hodge with 28 off 22 balls, before removing Heather Knight for 18 with a caught-and-bowled dismissal to prevent her from kicking on.
Alice Capsey offered further resistance, scoring at better than a run a ball before she was bowled by Shreyanka Patil after committing too early to a reverse sweep.
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Freya Kemp hit 39 off just 13 balls in England’s second T20 against India
It left England on 126-5 with 2.3 overs remaining, well short of a par score, but an inspired 13-ball cameo from Kemp transformed the complexion of the contest.
Kemp blasted four fours and two sixes as she and Dani Gibson added 39 valuable runs in the final two overs to post a defendable total, which England’s bowlers then successfully defended.
India made a strong start despite an early scalp for Lauren Bell, with Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia going along nicely until Kemp dismissed the former and the latter was forced to retire on 33.
Rodrigues went soon after to Kemp with the run-rate increasing before stand-in England captain Charlie Dean further turned the screw with two wickets in the 18th over, which included Indian counterpart Harmanpreet Kaur for 28.
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Dani Gibson takes a brilliant catch to get rid of the dangerous Shafali Verma.
There was no way back for India from 130-6 and Bell added another wicket to her tally to finish with 2-33 before Sophie Ecclestone got in the act.
Ecclestone accounted for Shreyanka Patil to restrict India to 142-9 and leave the T20 series finely poised at 1-1 on an encouraging day for England.
Dean: Special to defend that total
England captain, Charlie Dean:
“It was brilliant to get up to score we did – Kemp was exceptional, so were the other girls. And to defend that total was pretty special.
“Sophie Ecclestone was brilliant at the back end and it was nice to have Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith opening the bowling again.
“Kemp’s innings meant we took the momentum into our bowling innings and we needed a score like that to pressure India.
“India are a very strong team and to be able to win today and keeps the series alive heading to Taunton is brilliant.”
Harmanpreet: Kemp took game away from us
India captain, Harmanpreet Kaur:
“Kemp took the game away from us with the way she batted in the last overs, so we should give credit to her. They got 10, 15 runs extra.
“With the bat, we played too many dot balls in the middle phase and that cost us, it put pressure on us.”
England vs India T20I series results/fixtures
All times UK and Ireland, all live on Sky Sports
First T20I (Chelmsford) – India won by 38 runsSecond T20I (Bristol) – England won by 26 runsThird T20I (Taunton) – Tuesday June 2 (6.30pm)
Watch the Women’s T20 World Cup live in full on Sky Sports from June 12-July 5. Hosts England kick off the tournament on opening night with a game versus Sri Lanka at Edgbaston (6.30pm start). Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW
