India defeated England by eight wickets in the second Twenty20 International of the three-match series on Wednesday at County Cricket Ground, Derby, thanks to opener Smriti Mandhana’s 79* and captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 29. With the help of Smriti’s magnificent undefeated innings, India was able to successfully chase down the low score that the hosts England had set.
Smriti was well supported by the Indian captain all the way through to enable India secure their maiden series victory, which allowed the visitors to draw the series at one.
After Freya Kemp became the youngest woman to score a T20I fifty for England and helped her team reach 142/6, the Indian team made a respectable start to their run chase.
Sneh Rana took three wickets, Renuka Singh took one, and Deepti Sharma took one each.
India was winning easily when Sophie Ecclestone entered the game. She led Shafali Verma to be caught and bowled on the final ball of the powerplay, giving England the crucial breakthrough they needed. With two of their most productive hitters at the crease, India had no trouble scoring the remaining runs. The pair put together an unbroken 69-run partnership to help India win in the 17th over.
Smriti Mandhana’s match-winning innings of 79 runs, which included 13 boundaries, earned her the title of “Player of the Match.”
Smriti Mandhana special, What a player. pic.twitter.com/gdq64RzrA2
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 14, 2022
