Second T20I at County Ground in Bristol ended in disappointing defeat,with India losing by 28 runs and series now tied at 1-1.
India had already won first match,so this was perfect chance to seal things early only . Bowlers actually did decent job,especially Sree Charani with 3-25,as England were restricted to 168/5 . On paper,that chase of 169 was not impossible at all .
But cricket has this habit of turning suddenly ah . England's innings got late push because of Freya Kemp,who smashed unbeaten 39 runs off just 13 balls . That little burst in final overs changed whole feel of match,because otherwise India would have been chasing much smaller target.
India's chase also started in okay manner . Yastika Bhatia made 33,Smriti Mandhana scored 32,and Harmanpreet Kaur added 28 . By end of 15th over,India were 109/3 and at that stage,it genuinely looked like match was still very much alive.
Then collapse came.
- India lost six wickets for just 33 runs under pressure.
- Freya Kemp scored 39 runs in 13 balls and changed match dynamics.
- Final T20I will now decide series winner.
And tbh,this is where frustration starts . From 109/3,India somehow finished at 142/9,and report says they were falling short by 26 runs . Last six wickets going for just 33 runs is not small thing,especially when chase was still manageable till last phase .
England bowlers also deserve credit here . Freya Kemp came back with 2-15,Charlie Dean took 2-20,and Lauren Bell finished with 2-33 . They kept pressure tight when Indian batters were trying to push,so wickets kept falling at worst possible time.
Now series is 1-1 and final T20I becomes decider . With ICC Women's T20 World Cup coming up,both teams will obviously see this as more than just one bilateral match . India will want batting to respond immediately,England will feel they have found pressure point.
But bigger question is simple only… if India can reach 109/3 in 15th over and still lose like this,what exactly needs fixing before bigger tournament pressure arrives…
