England slumped to a first T20 series defeat to India at home as a stodgy batting display led to a six-wicket loss in the fourth match of five at Emirates Old Trafford.
The home side – who had kept the series alive with a nervy five-run victory at The Kia Oval last Friday – laboured to 126-7 after electing to bat with opener Sophia Dunkley (22 off 19) top-scoring and visiting spinner Radha Yadav picking up 2-15 as well as the fine diving catch at backward point that dismissed Dunkley.
England were unable to rotate the strike effectively against an excellent India fielding unit and did not manage a boundary between the 10th and 18th overs, with the hosts grateful to final-over sixes from Sophie Ecclestone (16no) – who was playing her 100th T20 international – and Issy Wong (11no) for passing 120.
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Radha Yadav took an excellent catch at backward point to dismiss England top-scorer Sophia Dunkley (22)
India then eclipsed England’s tally of fours for the innings (eight) in the fourth over of the chase as the elegant Smriti Mandhana (32 off 31) and the more brutal Shafali Verma (31 off 19) shared a fifty stand inside five overs before falling in quick succession.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s side eventually clinched victory with 18 balls to spare, thanks to the skipper (26), Jemimah Rodrigues (24no) and Richa Ghosh (7no), to take an unassailable 3-1 lead – they won the opening two matches at Trent Bridge and Bristol respectively – into Saturday’s finale at Edgbaston, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
That final T20 is followed by a three-match one-day international series, starting in Southampton on Wednesday July 16 (1pm) ahead of further fixtures at Lord’s (July 19) and in Durham (July 22).
England are set to welcome back captain Nat-Sciver Brunt for the ODIs after the 32-year-old was ruled out of the final three T20s due a groin injury, with Tammy Beaumont deputising as skipper.
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Alice Capsey wasted an lbw review after she was given out in Manchester
Beaumont (20) was one of a number of England batters to get out after reaching double figures – Dunkley, Alice Capsey (18), and were Paige Scholfield (16) the others – with the temporary skipper tamely holing out off Yadav at long-on after skipping down the pitch.
The boundaries came thick and fast at the start of the India reply – seamers Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer each going for three in an over – before England gave themselves a glimmer of hope by reducing both openers.
Verma hauled Charlie Dean to deep backward square while Mandhana sliced Ecclestone to short third, leading to the run-rate dropping significantly, before back-to-back fours from Harmanpreet off Dean ended any doubt about the result.
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There was a dreadful run out in England’s innings after a mix-up between Ecclestone and Charlie Dean
Beaumont: England a team in transition
Stand-in England captain Tammy Beaumont:
“I think we probably needed 150 to have a chance on a wicket that was offering for the spin bowlers. In a chase like that you’ve got to get everything right and we just didn’t tonight.
“We potentially weren’t ruthless with the bat – myself included with an absolute soft dismissal. That is not good enough at this level. We probably didn’t adapt quick enough in trying to work the twos and build something a little bit longer.
“We haven’t put in a complete performance yet. We’re missing a couple of key players and we’re a little bit of a team in transition. We’ve all got to put our hands up and try to get back on track.”
Tammy Beaumont has been deputising as England captain for the injured Nat Sciver-Brunt (groin)
Harmanpreet: WPL has helped Indian cricket
India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur:
“I’m really proud of my team for the way we’ve played this series.
“It was really important for us to get that momentum and I’m really happy that we all contributed. We had very good camps back home and worked on our plans.
“We have now played three seasons of WPL [Women’s Premier League] and we’ve got a lot of experience from that. The good sign is that now we are able to execute in international cricket also.”
England vs India schedule
All time UK and Ireland; all live on Sky Sports
T20 international series
One-day international series
First ODI: Wednesday July 16 (1pm) – SouthamptonSecond ODI: Saturday July 19 (11am) – Lord’sThird ODI: Tuesday July 22 (1pm) – Chester-le-Street
Watch the fifth women’s T20 international between England and India, at Edgbaston, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 6.35pm on Saturday or stream without a contract.
