ENG W VS IND W T20

Right then, that is it from this fixture but there are still two more games left in this five-match series. England Women will be rejuvenated with this win but India Women are still in front. The 4th T20I will be played on Wednesday, June 9th at Old Trafford in Manchester and will be a highly crucial one. The game will begin at 11 pm IST (5.30 pm GMT) but you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Until then, take care and goodbye!

Tammy Beaumont, the skipper of England Women, says that this is the exact reason why you play cricket as to be in tough battles and she is happy that they have come out on the right side. She adds that she loves the challenge and is incredibly proud of the team’s fight, especially with a young squad stepping up after Nat’s absence. Adds that the pitch was tough early on, but as the partnership grew, they settled in, though she admits there’s learning to take from that phase. Calls it a massive moment, not a perfect game, but a big step forward, proving they can go toe-to-toe with a strong India side. She praises the death bowling and highlights Filer’s impact, bowling quickly, unsettling batters, and changing the momentum. In the end, says that they backed five specialist bowlers, and she ends by saying she's incredibly proud of the group.

India Women captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, says that they were in the chase till the 16th over and didn't manage to utilize the opportunities. Adds that Deepti Sharma bowled really well and even the fielders supported the bowlers and they did well to restrict England after that opening stand. Reckons that the opposition bowlers executed their plans well but India were just one more boundary away from the win in the end.

Sophia Dunkley is adjudged the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for her impressive innings of 75 runs. She says that it’s been a tough start to the series, so to come out and fight the way they did was truly special and showed real courage to stay alive in the contest. She admits that both she and Danni Wyatt-Hodge didn’t begin the series well, but their strong relationship helped them push through. Adds that there has been much improvement in her game, but she’s pleased with where her batting stands now. Further says that she’s never been part of a match quite like this, and playing in front of a home crowd with such an electric atmosphere made it all the more memorable.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Tammy Beaumont opted to bat first on her first stint as England's T20I skipper and the openers didn't disappoint her. Sophia Dunkley had just 11 runs in total in her last 3 T20I innings but was positive from the start and went after the bowling. Danni Wyatt-Hodge still seemed too tentative and got a couple of lives but did make sure that she made complete use of them. The duo added 137 big runs before Dunkley got out but that is when India made a roaring comeback. Some excellent bowling, coupled with ordinary batting, helped India restrict England to a reasonable total. Arundhati Reddy and Deepti Sharma stood out with three wickets apiece.

India's batting innings was similar to that of England but they still had wickets in hand and the batters at the crease to get the job done. Probably, too many dot balls in the second half of the chase cost them dearly. Smriti Mandhana looked in control from the get-go and after an initial stutter, Shafali Verma started to hit her stride as well. The duo added 85 runs for the first wicket and then Jemimah Rodrigues came to the crease and kept herself busy. However, once Rodrigues fell, Mandhana, who had already notched up a 50, couldn't kick on and got bogged down. Harmanpreet Kaur also found it difficult to get going and Mandhana soon got out. The likes of Richa Ghosh and Amanjot Kaur couldn't make an impact as the power hitters and were undone by the slower deliveries on multiple occasions as India faced their first blip on this tour.

171 was a solid total on the board but it could easily have been at least 20 more for England Women and they seemed to have lost all the momentum heading into the innings break. This underwhelming phase continued as their bowlers took a thumping at the hands of the Indian openers. Lauren Filer bowled with a lot of fire and created a couple of opportunities against Shafali Verma which were not taken. However, it was Sophie Ecclestone who broke the opening stand and brought the hosts back into the game. There was another brewing stand but Filer used that extra pace well and saw the back of Jemimah Rodrigues and then Smriti Mandhana as well. Issy Wong used the slower balls really well at the death and Lauren Bell managed to hold her nerves in the final over, taking her team over the line in a must-win contest.

ENGLAND ARE ALIVE AND KICKING! First game for Tammy Beaumont as England Women's T20I captain and somehow, her team has managed to hang on. It was far from perfect but it was a win that will do this unit wonders in terms of confidence. India Women will feel they have missed out on a huge opportunity to seal the series and now, it is very much still alive.

OUT! CAUGHT! England Women have snatched a victory out of the jaws of India Women. Very full and around off, Harmanpreet Kaur clears out her front leg away and looks to go downtown but mistimes her shot straight to mid off, where the ball goes just around the head of Sophie Ecclestone and she reverse-cups it nicely. England Women win this thrilling contest by 5 runs.

OUT! CAUGHT! England Women have snatched a victory out of the jaws of India Women. Very full and around off, Harmanpreet Kaur clears out her front leg away and looks to go downtown but mistimes her shot straight to mid off, where the ball goes just around the head of Sophie Ecclestone and she reverse-cups it nicely. England Women win this thrilling contest by 5 runs.

Another pace off ball, full and around off, Harmanpreet Kaur lofts it off the bottom part of the bat towards mid off and just clears Sophie Ecclestone there. She takes a single but Sophie makes a fumble in collecting the ball properly after chasing it down and they take another run. India Women need six runs off the last ball.

Nagging length and outside off, slower delivery again, Harmanpreet Kaur swings hard from the back foot but misses as she gets deceived by the lack of pace on it.

Dropped! Paige Scholfield is the culprit this time. Full and around off, slower too, Amanjot Kaur stays deep-rooted in her crease and looks to take on the bowler but mistimes her shot towards long on, where Paige settles underneath it but spills out an easy chance. Just the single then.

Another pace off delivery, full and around middle, Harmanpreet Kaur goes deep inside of her crease and flicks it hard but straight to deep mid-wicket. She wants to take two runs but is denied by the excellent throw from Danni Wyatt-Hodge in the deep.

A slower full toss, around middle, Harmanpreet Kaur goes on her knees but has to wait for it and mistimes his big lofted sweep shot towards mid-wicket. Two runs taken.

12 needed off the final over. Lauren Bell to bowl it. She's been involved in a couple of dropped catches. Will that affect her bowling in this pressure final over? England's series hopes are on the line.