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England found its way out of a hole and kept the five-match series alive by narrowly escaping with a slender five-run victory against India women's team in the third T20I, in a contest where simple dropped catches took centre stage at The Oval.
With designated captain Nat Sciver-Brunt out of the contest due to an injury, stand-in captain Tammy Beaumont inspired England to a comeback win to bring the series to 1-2. England dropped several chances, but eventually, it didn't come back to hurt them enough as India failed to gun down the 172-run target. During India's pursuit of a 172-run target, in-form Smriti Mandhana and young Shafali Verma went all guns blazing from the get-go. England brutally hurt their chances by dropping catches as the duo dealt with boundaries. In the final over of the powerplay, Lauren Bell got hold of the ball but fell beyond the boundary rope, leading to a maximum as India finished the first six overs unscathed with 61/0. England found the vital breakthrough from Sophie Ecclestone after Shafali missed her flick and got cleaned up on 47(25). Mandhana single-handedly led the fightback as the required rate started to escalate out of India's hands. Jemimah Rodrigues tried to ease off the pressure by reeling in two boundaries in the 12th over. Mandhana raised her bat for another half-century by dispatching the ball past the fielders for a four. England fought back, with Lauren Filer removing Rodrigues on 20(15). India captain Harmanpreet Kaur survived an early scare after Alice Capsey floored the opportunity, leaving Filer in dismay. On the next ball, Filer had the last laugh as Mandhana holed it straight to Ecclestone and returned with 56(49). The catch-drop fiasco continued after Bell dropped Richa Ghosh in the 18th over. Despite receiving a second opportunity, Ghosh (7) failed to capitalise and sent the ball into Charlie Dean's hands. Ecclestone was the next culprit after she dropped Amanjot Kaur in the penultimate over. Amanjot saw her catch drop yet again, with Scholfield emerging as the offender. Despite the dropped chance, the equation came down to eight from two. Harmanpreet pushed for a double, leaving India needing six on the final ball. Harmanpreet (23) failed to clear the 30-year circle as Ecclestone made ammends and got hold of the opportunity as India finished on 166/5. Earlier in the contest, India's bowlers Arundhati Reddy, Shree Charani, and Deepti Sharma stood in contention for a hat-trick each as England floundered and lost eight wickets while managing just 25 runs in the final four overs. After opting to bat, England got off to a flier with Sophia Dunkley, and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge set the tone with a blistering display with the bat. Dunkley struck sweetly over the infield and down the ground while Wyatt-Hodge took time and found her rhythm after a dwindling start to the series. Dunkley and Wyatt-Hodge punished India for being sloppy on the field and dropping a couple of catches. Dunkley brought up her fifty by punching down the ball to long-on for a single on the final delivery of the 10th over. Wyatt-Hodge strolled out of the crease and clipped the ball left of deep mid-wicket to find the boundary rope for a four and bring up her half-century. It was the second instance of England's women's team openers scoring fifty in the same innings against India. The first was orchestrated by Charlotte Edwards (61*) and Sarah Taylor (50*) at Taunton in the 2009 T20 World Cup. With the game heading towards the climax, India tightened their lengths and pushed for a breakthrough. Deepti Sharma lured Dunkley to cushion the ball back into her hands on 75(53), bringing an end to the 137-run partnership. From 137/1, England endured a shambolic batting collapse as they packed on 171/9. Arundhati Reddy removed Alice Capsey (2), Wyatt-Hodge (66) and Amy Jones for a golden duck in a single over. She dismissed Wyatt-Hodge and Jones on her last two deliveries. England captain Tammy Beaumont became Radha Yadav's 100th T20I wicket in the next over. Shree Charani removed Paige Scholfield and Issy Wong on two consecutive deliveries in the penultimate over. Deepti returned to bowl the final over and scythed the wickets of Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Filer on consecutive deliveries as England settled for 171/9. (ANI)
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