India finally had to something cheer about as they defeated England by eight wickets to record a consolation win in the women’s T20 tri-series on Thursday in Mumbai.
After bundling out England for a paltry 107, the Indian batters chased down the target with 26 balls to spare. Opener Smriti Mandhana continued to be among the runs, smashing 62 in 41 balls to thwart any hopes of Heather Knight’s team making a comeback in the game.
The Indian spinners, for the first time in the series, came to the party and snared nine wickets between them after their opponents decided to bat first. Off-spinner Anuja Patil – the Player of the Match – picked up three wickets while Radha Yadav, Deepti Sharma and Poonam Yadav picked up two each.
Mandhana once again got off to a breezy start, striking three boundaries off Katie George in the second over and followed it up with a couple of more fours in the fourth over. Mithali Raj (6) and Jemimah Rodrigues (7) fell early. Mandhana got repreive when was on 13 as Tammy Beaumont spooned a simple catch at mid-wicket.
The southpaw made the most of it and sent the English bowlers on a leather hunt. The Indian, who brought up her third fifty of the tournament, hit eight boundaries and a six. Mandhana and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (20 not out) ensured that there were no hiccups in the chase and conjured an unbeaten 60-run third wicket stand to romp home.
Earlier, Indian spinners were at their clinical best. Patil (3/21) was the pick of the bowlers and was superbly aided by left-arm spinner Radha Yadav (2/16), leggie Poonam Yadav (2/17), offie Dipti Sharma (2/24). Pacer Pooja Vastrakar (1/17) also came up with a much improved display.
The Indian spinners did not allow the English batters to settle down and picked up wickets at regular intervals on a placid track. The hosts also produced tgeffort on the field.
Danielle Wyatt (31 off 22 balls) once again got off to a blazing start as England reached 54/1 at the end of the powerplay overs. From there, the wheels came off as spinners did the damage. Sharma dismissed Wyatt by taking a simple return catch.
Natalie Sciver (15) and skipper Knight tried to steer the team out of trouble Patil dismissed the former, who mistimed a reverse-sweep, and was caught by wicket-keeper Tania Bhatia. England lost the last five wickets for just 16 runs.
The highlight of the innings was the stunning diving catch taken at long-off by Harmanpreet to send back Danielle Hazell. The final between England and Australia will be played on Saturday. The game was a dead rubber as India have already been knocked out of the tournament after losing their first three games – two to Australia and one to England.
Brief Scores:
England 107 in 18.5 overs; Danielle Wyatt 31, Natalie Sciver 15, Anuja Patil 3/21) lost to India 108/2 in 15.4 overs (Smriti Mandhana 62*, Harampreet Kaur 20*, Danielle Hazell 2/17) by 8 wickets.
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