A spirited Indian side emerged victorious in the second T20I against England in the five-match series, beating the hosts by 24 runs at County Ground, Bristol, on Wednesday, July 2. This win helped India double their lead in the five-match series after they won the first match by 97 runs.
Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and opted to field first in a quest to assess the conditions. Shafali Verma was dismissed cheaply, but Smriti Mandhana, who smashed a century in the first T20I, could only make a run-a-ball 13. Harmanpreet Kaur was back in the lineup after missing the first game on precautionary grounds, but she was dismissed for a two-ball one.
India slumped to 31/3 when Harmanpreet was sent packing. The visitors would have hoped for a fighting total. England conceded 181 runs and picked up four wickets. Jemimah Rodrigues and Amanjot joined forces and amassed a 93-run partnership off 55 deliveries.
Lauren Bell broke the stunning partnership as she got the better of Jemimah after she had played a classy knock of 63 runs off 41 balls, hitting nine fours and one six. Richa Ghosh joined Amanjot in the middle with 34 balls left in the innings. Both of them hit a flurry of boundaries during their unbeaten 57-run stand off 34 balls. While Amanjot finished on 63 off 40 deliveries, Ghosh took 20 balls for her 32 runs. They hit nine and six boundaries, respectively. Bell bowled a brilliant spell for England, finishing with mind-boggling figures of 2/17 in four overs.
In reply, England lost three wickets for 17 runs inside the first four overs. The third wicket was very important for India as they sent the dangerous Sciver-Brunt back to the hut.
Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones resurrected the England innings with a 70-run partnership off 49 balls. However, their partnership ended after Sneh Rana produced a phenomenal effort on the field, getting Beaumont run out for a 35-ball 54.
England were still in the hunt but Shree Charani turned the game on its head by picking up two wickets in the 15th over. The dangerous Alice Capsey and the well-set Jones were the batters dismissed in the over which yielded just one run.
England were down and out, having slumped to 110/6 in the 15th over. Sophie Ecclestone threw her bat around to give the home fans something to cheer about. She made 35 off 23 balls before England finished on 157/7 in their 20 overs. Charani was the pick of the bowlers for India, bagging two wickets and conceding just 28 runs in her four overs.
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