Quick guide:
India vs England – 2nd T20I
India took the ground on Sunday for a must win match for them. The second T20I was an opportunity for England to seal the series, whereas for India it was a do-or-die match to keep the hopes alive for a draw. Losing it would mean the series goes to England’s pocket and it surely looked like that till the 13th over of the second innings. But then, we saw a turnaround that we will not be able forget very soon.
Match Summary
After England won the toss, an unchanged India were sent to bat first. Smriti Mandhana and her 17-year-old partner Shafali Verma walked in. Katherine Brunt, the senior most of this English side, was ahead in the Shafali-Brunt battle, as she got Verma out for a two-ball duck in the first T20I. But this time it was Shafali’s day.
After a steady start in the first over, she slowly opened her arms in the second over. Then in the third over she got the much-needed confidence after hitting England’s very best Sophie Ecclestone for a boundary and a stunning six. Then it was Brunt’s turn.
Shafali dispatched the first ball she faced in that 4th over through midwicket for a boundary. And then another and then three more. Back-to-back five boundaries left the veteran pacer furious and the youngster smiling as India finished the over with 21 runs and a 47/0 on the board at the end of 4 overs.
England pulled back a little after that as Mandhana and Verma struggled to get going against Nat Sciver, and Ecclestone bowled a maiden over to Shafali. The pressure created, costed Mandhana’s wicket and soon after Shafali Departed.
After the decent start from the openers, Captain Harmanpreet Kaur walked in at number three and Deepti Sharma at number four. They struggled a little in the beginning of their innings, but then came the moment, the team, the fans and Kaur herself was waiting for. In the 12th over of the match, when India was 75/2, Kaur danced down the pitch and lofted Mady Villiers for a six over the long on in pure Harmanpreet Kaur style.
Was that the comeback of the Harman we know? Only time will tell. She went on to play a decent innings of 31 in 25 balls before getting caught by Brunt at the long-off. Deepti Sharma struggled to get going and a small cameo from Richa Ghosh and Sneh Rana resulted India to finish at 148/4. A total that didn’t seem like threatening enough for this well polished English side.
In response, England batters started cautiously. After Danni Wyatt fell in the second over, the dangerous Sciver waked in. Beaumont started to open her hands as they managed 13 runs in the first 3 balls of the 3rd over which included a bye four down the leg side. In the fifth ball of the over, Sciver was run out by a stunning effort from Richa Ghosh, after she fumbled with the ball initially which resulted them trying to steal a run.
Captain Heather Knight walked in and for the next 10 overs, it looked like England is on the way to finish the match early. There was no stopping them as Beaumont and Knight took the team to a comfortable 105/2 at the end of 13th over.
44 runs were needed from 42 balls, with eight wickets in hand. But what looked like a cake walk for England, soon turned into a nightmare. After Deepti Sharma got rid of Beaumont in the fourth ball of the 14th over, Knight departed in the very next ball in a bizarre run out that could have ignited huge controversy if she didn’t stop it in the post-match presentation that day.
Amy Jones had hit the ball straight which Knight allowed to pass in between her legs. Deepti Sharma dived to save the ball behind her, which resulted the ball bounce off Deepti’s body and hit the wicket at the non-striker’s end. As Knight was clearly out of the crease, and couldn’t get back in time as Deepti was blocking the way behind her, she was out. She asked India Captain Harmanpreet Kaur to withdraw the appeal which she denied, and a visibly furious England Captain went back to the dugout. Knight later referred the incident as bad luck and clarified that it was not intentional from Sharma to block her.
After losing two back-to-back wickets, it was on Amy Jones and young Sophia Dunkley to take England home. Jones looked good in touch as she hit Harleen Deol for a six in the very next over, but a stunning run-out of Dunkley brought India back into the game. Indian fielders covered every area of the ground as the spin trio Sneh Rana, Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma hardly gave away any lose balls.
The pressure built up and one by one, Jones, Brunt and Villiers departed as Indian fielder’s stunning show on the field continued. From a RRR of just above six at one point, England went into the last over with 14 runs required. They could only manage five runs as an ecstatic India took the game home in a splendid turn around.
As we go into the final T20I on Wednesday, the series is yet to be decided. England would very much like to end it on the top after dominating in all three formats, but a confident India after giving a fight back each and every time, surely won’t make this easy for them.
Watch the highlight:
Key Take-aways
- Deepti’s persistence in her spell – You have to keep giving your best even when you feel the odds are against you or results are not seen. Sometimes, we are closer to the breakthrough than we think. We are often one wicket away from changing things in our favour.
- Harmanpreet’s SIX – The comeback will be slow, the process might feel frustrating but it is a process and we are often just one shot away from getting back to our best. But till we get there, we have to keep trying, we have to keep going and celebrate the small win long the way.
- England’s Collapse – It is important to understand how to respond in a pressure situation. Sometimes things may not go your way, the opponents may put a lot more pressure than the scoreboard on the team. Holding your nerves and taking calculated risks is important. It may or may not turn in your favour but it is important to try.
~Poulami Das (Stats Analyst, Beyond the Matches), Urvi Shah (Author, Beyond the matches)
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