166/5 (20.0)
CR : 8.30
171/9 (20.0)
CR : 8.55
England Women won by 5 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Sophia Dunkley
75(53)
2:17 AM IST and 9:47 PM Local Time: Phew! What a game we have just had at the Oval. England Women clinch a nail-biting five-run win to stay alive in the series. Despite being woeful on the field, the hosts have managed to pull off a heist. India Women have bottled a golden opportunity to seal the series, but we now have two matches left with all to play for as this series hangs at 2-1 in the tourists' favour as of now.
Opting to bat first, the English openers Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge were sublime, adding a record 137-run opening stand. Dunkley scored 75 off 53, while Wyatt-Hodge hit 66 off 42. At one stage, India were struggling to pick up a wicket, but once the partnership was broken in the 16th over, the floodgates were opened. England lost wickets like a pack of cards and failed to accelerate in the death overs, as they lost 9 wickets for just 34 runs and finished on 171/9 in 20 overs.
Arundhati Reddy (3/32), Deepti Sharma (3/27), N Charani (2/43) and Radha Yadav (1/15) pulled things back in the end with excellent spells at the death.
In reply, the Indian openers - Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana - were cruising in the run chase as the duo raced away to 85 in the blink of an eye. Verma (47 off 25) was dropped by Lauren Bell early on and made England pay for that mistake. Sophie Ecclestone broke the opening partnership in the 9th over by knocking over the right-hander.
Mandhana (56 off 49) hit odd boundaries and kept India moving at a good clip in the run chase. She had Jemimah Rodrigues in her company as the two added 38 runs for the 2nd wicket. The southpaw hit yet another half-century against England, with this being her 31st in the T20Is. India barely needed 7 runs per over at one stage and with 9 wickets in hand, it should have been a cake walk.
Lauren Filer (2/30), who was unlucky in her opening burst, came back and got rid of both set batters in her successive overs to give England a good chance. Charlie Dean (0/37), Issy Wong (1/36), Sophie Ecclestone (1/24) and Bell (1/37) did well towards the end to put a squeeze on the new batters and made it tough for India, who despite having the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur (23 off 17), Richa Ghosh (7 off 10) and Amanjot Kaur (7* off 4) fell short in the end.
England dropped plenty of easy chances, but it didn't cost them in the end. India needed 30 off the last 3 overs. Ecclestone conceded 10 in the 18th over. Wong leaked only 8 runs and dismissed Ghosh in the 19th over. Bell had 12 runs to deal with in the last over. She managed to keep it tight and restrict Amanjot and Harman to keep England alive in the series!
Opting to bat first, the English openers Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge were sublime, adding a record 137-run opening stand. Dunkley scored 75 off 53, while Wyatt-Hodge hit 66 off 42. At one stage, India were struggling to pick up a wicket, but once the partnership was broken in the 16th over, the floodgates were opened. England lost wickets like a pack of cards and failed to accelerate in the death overs, as they lost 9 wickets for just 34 runs and finished on 171/9 in 20 overs.
Arundhati Reddy (3/32), Deepti Sharma (3/27), N Charani (2/43) and Radha Yadav (1/15) pulled things back in the end with excellent spells at the death.
In reply, the Indian openers - Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana - were cruising in the run chase as the duo raced away to 85 in the blink of an eye. Verma (47 off 25) was dropped by Lauren Bell early on and made England pay for that mistake. Sophie Ecclestone broke the opening partnership in the 9th over by knocking over the right-hander.
Mandhana (56 off 49) hit odd boundaries and kept India moving at a good clip in the run chase. She had Jemimah Rodrigues in her company as the two added 38 runs for the 2nd wicket. The southpaw hit yet another half-century against England, with this being her 31st in the T20Is. India barely needed 7 runs per over at one stage and with 9 wickets in hand, it should have been a cake walk.
Lauren Filer (2/30), who was unlucky in her opening burst, came back and got rid of both set batters in her successive overs to give England a good chance. Charlie Dean (0/37), Issy Wong (1/36), Sophie Ecclestone (1/24) and Bell (1/37) did well towards the end to put a squeeze on the new batters and made it tough for India, who despite having the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur (23 off 17), Richa Ghosh (7 off 10) and Amanjot Kaur (7* off 4) fell short in the end.
England dropped plenty of easy chances, but it didn't cost them in the end. India needed 30 off the last 3 overs. Ecclestone conceded 10 in the 18th over. Wong leaked only 8 runs and dismissed Ghosh in the 19th over. Bell had 12 runs to deal with in the last over. She managed to keep it tight and restrict Amanjot and Harman to keep England alive in the series!
Smallest Margin of Wins for England Women in T20Is (by runs):
1 vs India Women, Guwahati, 2019
3 vs Australia Women, The Oval, 2023
5 vs India Women, The Oval, 2025, Tonight*
8 vs South Africa Women, Edgbaston, 2014
1 vs India Women, Guwahati, 2019
3 vs Australia Women, The Oval, 2023
5 vs India Women, The Oval, 2025, Tonight*
8 vs South Africa Women, Edgbaston, 2014
Player of the Match: Sophia Dunkley
Sophia Dunkley (POTM): "We have had a tough start to the series, but coming out there and fighting like we did was amazing. The courage to stay in the series kept us going.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge and I didn't have a great start to the series. We love batting with each other. We have a good relationship in batting.
I've been doing a lot of tinkering in the last 18 months. Just going out and thinking about my game. But I'm happy with where my batting is at the moment.
Haven't played in a game like that. The atmosphere on home ground was amazing. The crowd were unbelievable tonight."
Danni Wyatt-Hodge and I didn't have a great start to the series. We love batting with each other. We have a good relationship in batting.
I've been doing a lot of tinkering in the last 18 months. Just going out and thinking about my game. But I'm happy with where my batting is at the moment.
Haven't played in a game like that. The atmosphere on home ground was amazing. The crowd were unbelievable tonight."
Harmanpreet Kaur (India Women Captain): "We had the game till the 16th over. There was dew, but we did not utilise it. We did well in patches, but there was a lot of learning for us.
The bowlers were outstanding tonight. The fielders supported well, and we bowled really well.
We came back strongly after their opening stand. The character we showed to bounce back after that hundred-run opening partnership was amazing.
They executed their plans really well. We were looking for boundaries, and in the end, we fell one short."
The bowlers were outstanding tonight. The fielders supported well, and we bowled really well.
We came back strongly after their opening stand. The character we showed to bounce back after that hundred-run opening partnership was amazing.
They executed their plans really well. We were looking for boundaries, and in the end, we fell one short."
Tammy Beaumont (England Women Captain): "Ah... That is what you look and live for in cricket. Great game, and we came up on the right side of the result. I am all about the battle and the challenge. I absolutely love the fight from the girls there, and I am so proud of every single one of them.
If we are to be honest, the wicket was a little bit hard to start on, and the longer the partnership went on, the more we forgot that. We went in and tried to play the same shots. Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley played superbly, and there was a collapse after that. We will only learn from that and cope with it on wickets like this.
It's massive news for this team to lose Nat Sciver-Brunt to injury, and for an inexperienced team to show that fight was impressive. It's a young and inexperienced team. We know it's not a perfect performance. However, we now know that we can go toe-to-toe with this Indian team and come out on top. It has been an improved performance, to put it mildly.
The death bowling was executed with such clarity, and it was pleasing to see. Filer changed the game. She was fiery and hit people on the head. Bowling fast is definitely not easy, but tonight she changed the game with her spell. I had Capsey up my sleeve as well, but went with the five out-and-out bowlers; even Charlie Dean's figures don't reflect how well she bowled. Incredibly proud of this effort from the team."
If we are to be honest, the wicket was a little bit hard to start on, and the longer the partnership went on, the more we forgot that. We went in and tried to play the same shots. Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley played superbly, and there was a collapse after that. We will only learn from that and cope with it on wickets like this.
It's massive news for this team to lose Nat Sciver-Brunt to injury, and for an inexperienced team to show that fight was impressive. It's a young and inexperienced team. We know it's not a perfect performance. However, we now know that we can go toe-to-toe with this Indian team and come out on top. It has been an improved performance, to put it mildly.
The death bowling was executed with such clarity, and it was pleasing to see. Filer changed the game. She was fiery and hit people on the head. Bowling fast is definitely not easy, but tonight she changed the game with her spell. I had Capsey up my sleeve as well, but went with the five out-and-out bowlers; even Charlie Dean's figures don't reflect how well she bowled. Incredibly proud of this effort from the team."
That is it from the third T20I between England Women and India Women. The hosts have managed to bounce back in the five-match series, but still trail 1-2 to the visitors. The 4th game is at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
For now, this is me AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my colleagues Akshay Bhide, Aman and Raju Khariya. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
For now, this is me AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my colleagues Akshay Bhide, Aman and Raju Khariya. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!