England slumped to a T20 series defeat against India as they lost by six wickets at Old Trafford to fall 3-1 behind going into Saturday’s final match at Edgbaston.
Having won the toss and chosen to bat, England laboured to 126 for seven, a score padded out by 16 runs off the final over thanks to sixes from Sophie Ecclestone and Issy Wong, on a night when none of the batters truly got going.
And the difficulty of defending that total quickly became apparent as India openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma hit nine fours off the first four overs – more than England had managed in their entire innings – to lay the foundations for a convincing victory.
India take the series in Manchester 😢
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 9, 2025
To Birmingham for the final T20. pic.twitter.com/hi9HdeSNET
The series loss will come as a significant reality check for Charlotte Edwards after her tenure began with a clean sweep of the West Indies in T20s and ODIs.
England had given themselves a lifeline in the series with a five-run victory at the Oval on Friday but India reasserted control in Manchester, stifling England with disciplined bowling and some sharp fielding.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge had just watched Sophia Dunkley hit a six back down the ground off Shree Charani, but when she tried the same thing herself she was caught by Arundhati Reddy for five.
Dunkley followed for 22 three overs later, the victim of a sharp catch from Radha Yadav after spooning a short delivery from Deepti Sharma to leave England on 33 for two.
Tammy Beaumont and Alice Capsey were slowly building a partnership but, from the second ball after the drinks break, Beaumont (20) became Reddy’s next victim after failing to get enough power on Yadav’s delivery.
It felt a key moment in the innings as England fell to 68 for three. Capsey soon followed for 18, trapped lbw by Charani and not even sticking around to see the result of the review she asked for.
Amanjot Kaur appeared to have hurt herself fielding a shot from Paige Scholfield but after receiving treatment, she bowled out Amy Jones for nine two deliveries later.
Scholfield (16) and Charlie Dean (four) both went in the 17th over – the latter run out in a terrible mix up with Ecclestone.
The youngest ever English woman to reach 100 T20 caps, enjoy every minute @Sophecc19 😍
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 9, 2025
Everton legend and Soph's friend, Phil Jagielka presented her with her cap 🤝 pic.twitter.com/IYVjItWbl7
Openers Verma and Mandhana wasted little time in setting about the run chase, with 50 runs coming off the first five overs.
Progress was stalled as Verma was caught by Capsey on the boundary off Dean for 31 before Ecclestone – who became the youngest woman to reach 100 T20 appearances for England – claimed the big scalp of Mandhana for 32, tempting her to slice a shot into the hands of Lauren Filer.
The run rate initially slumped, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease, but India stayed on the right side of the numbers required and then gradually started to turn the screw.
Kaur fell for 26, caught by Ecclestone off Wong, before Amanjot Kaur was run out for two, but Rodrigues (24) and Richa Ghosh (seven) brought it home for India with 18 balls to spare.
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