Radha Yadav was the standout of India’s fourth T20I, as her outstanding bowling helped the team restrict England to a modest total of 126/7 at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.
This came after Tammy Beaumont won the toss and chose to bat first in a contest that meant everything for the home team.
Shree Charani made India’s first breakthrough after Harmanpreet Kaur introduced her into the attack in the third over. The 20-year-old defeated Danielle Wyatt-Hodge. Sophia Dunkley struggled to rotate strike, and she was removed in the penultimate over of the powerplay after scoring 22 runs off 19 balls.
Alice Capsey and Beaumont joined forces and attempted to improve the score rate. However, they only scored 35 runs off 30 balls. Both were dismissed in consecutive overs throughout the middle of the innings.
Both of them failed to translate their promising starts into significant scores. Amy Jones, Paige Scholfield, and Charlie Dean failed to make the most of their time in the centre. Issy Wong and Sophie Ecclestone scored 25 runs off the final 18 balls of the innings to push the hosts above the 120-run barrier. Radha got two wickets and conceded just 15 runs in her four-over performance. Charani also took a handful of wickets, allowing 30 runs in four overs.
England were anxious for wickets with the new ball, but Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma had different plans. They attacked the English bowlers, scoring 56 runs in seven overs before Dean dismissed Verma for 31 off 19 balls. Mandhana attempted to play the anchor position but was removed by Sophie Ecclestone after hitting 32 runs from 31 deliveries.
Jemimah Rodrigues forged a watchful 48-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur off 42 balls to take India on the brink of a famous series win. However, England delayed the inevitable by picking up the wickets of Harmanpreet and Amanjot Kaur in consecutive overs. Rodrigues took the winning run in the last ball of the 17th over as India got home with three overs and six wickets to spare.
The Women in Blue bagged the series with a match remaining. Rodrigues remained unbeaten on 24 off 22 balls, with Richa Ghosh (7*) for company.
India
