Here’s Raf’s report of a rollercoaster game:
That’s all from me this evening, thanks for tuning in and goodnight.
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England dropped six catches and collapsed dramatically with the bat but they somehow got the job done. The series stands at 2-1 and the teams head to Manchester on Wednesday for the fourth of this five match series.
Here’s stand in captain Tammy Beaumont with the final words:
I think that’s what you live for in cricket. As captain, those are the moments you live for. We came out on the right side in the end. I’m all about the battle and the fight and I love the fight from the girls. I’m so proud of every single one of them.”
On the collapse of 9-31:
If we’re honest, the wicket was a bit hard to start on and the longer the partnership went on, the more we forgot that. We went in trying to play the same shots Danni and Sophia had been playing and that led to a bit of a collapse. We probably fell about 10 short but we’ll learn from that and be better on a pitch where it is difficult to start.”
On keeping the series alive:
This is a massive moment for this team. To lose Nat a couple of days ago, have a young, inexperienced team in some areas but show up and show that fight.
“We know it wasn’t the perfect game but we’ve been asking for improvement every game and there was some significant improvement. Now we believe we can go toe-to-toe with this India team and come out on top.
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India captain Harmanpreet Kaur:
I think we were in the game until the 16th over, but after that we didn’t utilise. We did well, but a lot of learnings.
Deepti was outstanding and the fielders supported her really well. We came back strongly after their hundred partnership.
We were executing our plans and looking for a few boundaries and we were just short by a boundary in the end.”
Sophia Dunkley is Player of the Match
I think we’ve had a tough start to this series so to come out and fight like we did tonight was amazing. We didn’t nail it in every department but we’re still alive in the series.”
batting with Wyatt-Hodge:
Neither of us have had a great start to the series but we love batting together and it was good to get a partnership.”
On the atmosphere at The Oval:
That was absolutely unreal. I don’t think I’ve played in a game like that. The atmosphere, the crowd and the game was amazing.”
England win by five runs! (India 166-5)
What a crackers match! Bell sees Amanjot Kaur dropped at long on but hold her nerve to hit a length and deny India the boundaries they needed. With six to win off the final ball Harmanpreet Kaur can only find Ecclestone at mid off and the catch is held. It’s been a mixture of sublime and ridiculous from England this evening but somehow they get over the line and keep the series alive!
19th over: India 160-4 (Kaur 18, Kaur 6) Issy Wong leaves Lauren Bell with 12 runs to defend off the final over…
WICKET! Richa Ghosh c Dean b Wong 7 (India 154-4)
Whadda grab! Charlie Dean pulls off a stunning diving catch on the boundary to see the back of Ghosh. What a finish we have on our hands here!
18th over: India 152-3 (Kaur 18, Ghosh 5) England have eight minutes to bowl two overs, or they will face a fielding penalty. It’s another dramatic over as Ecclestone goes for ten runs. Kaur laces through the covers and then scampers a single. Ghosh is then DROPPED by Bell behind square! England have shelled way too many chances this evening. India need 20 off 12.
17th over: India 142-3 (Kaur 10, Ghosh 3) Issy Wong gets out of the over for the cost of just six runs. We’re in for a tight finish here at the Oval – India need 30 off 18 balls. Here’s Sophie Ecclestone.
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17th over: India 136-3 (Kaur 7, Ghosh 1) Filer clonks new batter Ghosh on the helmet with another well directed short ball. England review but there was no bat involved. Ghosh gets a single to bring Kaur on strike. Shot! Kaur bunts down the ground to release some pressure. India need 36 from 24 balls…
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WICKET! Smriti Mandhana c Ecclestone b Filer 56 (India 131-3)
Drama at the Oval as Alice Capsey drops an absolute sitter to let Kaur off the hook. That was a stinker. But Filer then gets the big Kahuna with the next ball, a short ball plinked to Ecclestone who makes no mistake on the edge of the ring. Now then!
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15th over: India 130-2 (Mandhana 56, Kaur 2) Charlie Dean into her final over – Mandhana flicks for four over square leg but it is just five runs as England put the squeeze on. 42 needed from 30 balls.
14th over: India 125-2 (Mandhana 52, Kaur 2) Harmanpreet Kaur is the new batter. Gulp. India need 47 from 36 balls. England need wickets on top of wickets.
WICKET! Jemimah Rodrigues c Jones b Filer 20 (India 123-2)
A thin edge from a Filer bouncer into Amy Jones’ gloves!
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13th over: India 123-1 (Mandhana 52, Rodrigues 20) India are cantering to the finish line here. Thirteen runs off Lauren Bell’s over. Mandhana goes to fifty with a square drive and
12th over: India 110-1 (Mandhana 47, Rodrigues 12) More spin from England, Charlie Dean drops short and is punished by Mandhana for four behind square. Rodrigues then plays a delicious pick up off her pads for four more. Eleven runs off the over.
11th over: India 99-1 (Mandhana 42, Rodrigues 6) England needed that, just two singles off Ecclestone.
10th over: India 97-1 (Mandhana 41, Rodrigues 5) India are cruising this chase at the halfway stage. Mandhana tickles Wong off the pads for a four to fine leg and Rodrigues gets her first boundary with a glide past point. England need a drink, a stiff one.
9th over: India 85-1 (Mandhana 35, Rodrigues 0) Jemimah Rodrigues is the new batter, she’s a real touch player but can be a slow starter at the start of her innings. India need 87 from 66 balls.
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WICKET! Shafali Verma b Ecclestone 47 (India 85-1)
England needed that! Ecclestone bowls a beauty to get rid of Verma, flighted and spinning into the off bail. Ecclestone roars in delight/relief.
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8th over: India 77-0 (Mandhana 29, Verma 45) Twelve off the over as Charlie Dean is pummelled for SIX over midwicket and a crisp four over mid off. England in trouble here!
7th over: India 65-0 (Mandhana 28, Verma 34) Sophie Ecclestone comes on and rattles though a tidy over for just four singles. England trying to get some control in this game.
6th over: India 61-0 (Mandhana 26, Verma 32) Lauren Filer replaces Charlie Dean. Shafali Verma backs away and shows her stumps but she carves over the in-field for four. India’s fifty up in no time at all. SIX! Verma plays a delicious upper cut that Lauren Bell does incredibly well to cling onto but her momentum takes her over the boundary sponge. That was a fantastic leaping catch by Bell, who dropped a sitter earlier on, but I’d wager she was a bit out of position, if she was on the fence it would have been straight to her.
5th over: India 49-0 (Mandhana 25, Verma 21) Lauren Bell back into the attack and Mandhana peppers the boundary hoardings. A clip down the ground is followed by a thick edge backward of point and then an absolutely beautiful square cut! That was lovely, Lara-esque - shot of the night for mine!
4th over: India 36-0 (Mandhana 12, Verma 21) Charlie Dean called into the attack, a first sight of spin this innings. Mandhana bunts over mid-on for four. Shot! Shafali Verma then trots out of her crease and drives in the gap through cover for four more.
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3rd over: India 27-0 (Mandhana 7, Verma 17) Issy Wong slings down two wides and is then pumped over long off by Shafali Verma! Runs are flowing for India… Verma opens the face and picks up four more through the vacant third man. India off to a flier.
2nd over: India 15-0 (Mandhana 6, Verma 8) The fiery Lauren Filer starts with a wide. Lauren Bell pulls off a diving stop behind square to stop a certain boundary off a short ball. No one can stop that though, Filer serves up a leg stump half volley and is flicked away for four by Verma.
DROP! Filer bangs in a short ball and Verma gets in a real tangle, England had the plan in place but Lauren Bell drops the ball on the deep third boundary. Gah! The ball trickles into the fence for four too. That could be a costly miss.
1st over: India 5-0 (Mandhana 5, Verma 0) There’s some early movement for Bell with her first delivery but the tall opening bowler drops too short with her second delivery and is flicked off the hip by Mandhana. Bell then finds her length and bowls a couple of beauties to beat the edge of Verma’s bat.
Righto, here come the Indian openers for the chase. There are no demons in this pitch, it’s an absolute belter. England huddle on the side of the boundary edge and then run onto to the pitch, they’ll be kicking themselves if they let this one slip given the position they were in and with the series on the line.
Lauren Bell will start with the new ball to Smriti Mandhana. Shafali Verma is at the non-strikers end. India have a stacked batting card. Let’s play.
England finish on 171-9
A crazy batting effort comes to a close with England almost bowled out after Dunkley and Wyatt-Hodge put on 137 runs from 92 balls at the top of the order… the rest of the batting card was a total Horlicks – 34 runs from 28 balls FOR THE LOSS OF NINE WICKETS!
India were staring down the barrel of a 200 plus chase, now they are right back in this match. Charlotte Edwards has an inscrutable look on her face but I dare say she’ll have a few words about how that innings imploded.
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WICKET! Lauren Filer c Mandhana b Sharma 0 (England 168-9)
I do not believe this! The third opportunity for a hat-trick in the innings coming up as Filer is caught in the ring first ball!
WICKET! Sophie Ecclestone c & b Sharma 10 (England 168-8)
The wickets keep falling! I can’t spayk type!
19th over: England 166-7 (Ecclestone 10, Dean 4) Charlie Dean reverse-sweeps the hat-trick ball for four! It’s chaos out there!
WICKET! Issy Wong c †Ghosh b Shree Charani 0 (England 162-7)
Oh my days. Issy Wong falls for a golden duck, a meaty edge through to the keeper. Charani is on a hat-trick!
WICKET Paige Scholfield st Ghosh b Shree Charani 4 (England 162-6)
England are falling in a heap! Ecclestone smears a six and then takes a single. Paige Scholfield then dashes out of her crease and misses the ball to be stumped by miles.
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18th over: England 153-5 (Scholfield 4, Ecclestone 1) By castling Beaumont Radha Yadav picks up her 100th T210I wicket and her teammates swarm around her to congratulate, a lovely moment. After a harum-scarum passage of play, Sophie Ecclestone arrives in the middle.
WICKET! Tammy Beaumont b Yadav 2 (England 153-5)
Gone! Beaumont steps across her stumps but, crucially, misses the ball to see her middle stump knocked back.
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17th over: England 149-4 (Scholfield 3, Beaumont) Paige Scholfield and Tammy Beaumont in the middle for England now with three overs to bat. India have hauled it back in the last few overs.
WICKET! Amy Jones lbw b Reddy 0 (England 149-4)
Arundhati Reddy has three in the over and two in two as she pins Amy Jones on the pad bang in front of leg stump!
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WICKET! Danni Wyatt-Hodge c Kaur b Reddy 66 (England 149-3)
And another! Wyatt-Hodge is scuppered by the pace off delivery and plinks another simple catch to Kaur on the edge of the rind. England spluttering at the back end of their innings here.
WICKET! Alice Capsey c Shree Charani b Reddy 2 (England 146-2)
Capsey gets too cute and ramps a simple catch behind square!
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16th over: England 146-1 (Wyatt-Hodge 66, Capsey 2) Alice Capsey strolls out to the middle with five overs to do some damage. She clips her first ball off her toes for a single. Deepti Sharma nearly escapes from her over with the wicket and just a handful of runs but Wyatt-Hodge has other ideas – she drops to her haunches and slog sweeps into the stands for SIX!
Sophia Dunkley c & b Sharma 75 (England 137-1)
Dunkley hits one straight up in the air and it swirls and whirls before landing safely in the bowler’s hands. India finally get a breakthrough.
15th over: England 136-0 (Dunkley 70, Wyatt-Hodge 53) A sublime pull for four by Wyatt-Hodge, swivelling the front leg in style. Five overs to go, England will want at least another fifty runs, this pitch looks like a crisply ironed shirt front. Tammy Beaumont and Alice Capsey are positively champing at the bit in the dugout.
14th over: England 126-0 (Dunkley 70, Wyatt-Hodge 53) Wyatt-Hodge creams a cover drive off Rana and follows up with a whip through midwicket for another four to take her to fifty of 34 balls! She struggled at the start but has been scintillating in the last few overs.
13th over: England 115-0 (Dunkley 68, Wyatt-Hodge 44) Wyatt-Hodge has come alive now, she sweeps Arundhati for four and then steps out of her crease and marmalises a length ball for SIX into the stands! Form is temporary, class is permanent.
12th over: England 100-0 (Dunkley 64, Wyatt-Hodge 33) England are putting their foot down now with wickets in the bank. Dunkley swipes Charani through the leg side for four. Two hard run twos into the deep and a single take England to three figures.
11th over: England 91-0 (Dunkley 58, Wyatt-Hodge 31) Amanjot returns and Dunkley dispatches her over mid-off for four! That was more bottom handed than most of her shots this evening but she muscled it away and beat the infield. Nine off the over with ease.
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10th over: England 82-0 (Dunkley 50, Wyatt-Hodge 30) Sneh Rana into the attack, Wyatt-Hodge rocks back and cuts for four. She’s finding her form now and it just might be her night after those two simple drops. Dunkley goes to a classy half century with a drive down the ground. Thats her sixth T20I half-century and she’s looked incredibly fluent throughout. Halfway stage reached, England will look to capitalise on this strong start in the back ten.
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9th over: England 71-0 (Dunkley 44, Wyatt-Hodge 25) DROP! Jemimah Rodrigues puts down Wyatt-Hodge at cow corner, that should’ve been swallowed. Salt meet wound. Wyatt-Hodge clobbers Charani over Rodrigues’ head for SIX off the next ball. DROPPED AGAIN! Harmanpreet Kaur shells a sharp chance in the cover to give Wyatt-Hodge her second life.
8th over: England 61-0 (Dunkley 42, Wyatt-Hodge 17) Shadows cast half the pitch into darkness as the sun begins to go down behind the stands creating quite tricky seeing conditions for the batters for the next couple of overs. Dunkley reverse-sweeps Radha Yadav for four and Wyatt-Hodge finds her second boundary of the evening out to midwicket. Eleven off the over.
7th over: England 50-0 (Dunkley 37, Wyatt-Hodge 11) Wyatt-Hodge is struggling for fluency, she tried to hit a square cut too hard and loses her shape. Six runs ticked off the over, the wicket looks a belter though so England might need to step on it a little.
6th over: England 44-0 (Dunkley 32, Wyatt-Hodge 10) Dunkley is ticking now, she trots down the wicket and bunts Sharma over mid-off for four after swatting a full toss away for another boundary through midwicket. End of the Powerplay, England haven’t pulled away but they haven’t lost a wicket yet either.
5th over: England 34-0 (Dunkley 23, Wyatt-Hodge 9) Shree Charani into the attack with her left-arm spin. Dunkley picks up four over midwicket and then plays an absolute doozy of a straight drive for SIX! That was a really excellent shot, Dunkley held the pose and rightly so.
4th over: England 22-0 (Dunkley 11, Wyatt-Hodge 9) Deepti Sharma into the attack, she whirls through an over in double quick time for the cost of just two singles. Quiet start for England, they might chance their arm a bit now.
3rd over: England 20-0 (Dunkley 10, Wyatt-Hodge 8) Dunkley scampers two runs to leg and then advances to Amanjot Kaur but the bowler sees her coming and sprays it onto the far tramline and out of reach. Bosh! Dunkley stays stock still and smears the next ball back over the bowler for four. A single is tucked off the hip to bring DWH on strike. Another short ball from the bowler, which seems to be a tactic, Wyatt-Hodge mistimes a pull to midwicket and takes a single.
2nd over: England 12-0 (Dunkley 3, Wyatt-Hodge 7) Arundhati Reddy’s medium pace from the other end. A couple of scrappy wides down the leg side are followed by a half-volley that is deposited over mid-off for four by Wyatt-Hodge!
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1st over: England 4-0 (Dunkley 2, Wyatt-Hodge 2) Dunkley cuts to backward point where a fantastic diving stops saves the boundary. India have out-batted, out-bowled and out-fielded England so far in this series. That was a nifty start in the inner ring.
Cripes! Kaur slams in a sharp bouncer and Wyatt-Hodge gets in a real tangle, she ends up playing a forehand smash at it above her eye-line and is lucky that it didn’t ploop to a fielder. Wyatt-Hodge scampers a run and breathes a sigh of relief, she’s due a score.
Amanjot Kaur to open the bowling for India, she was very impressive with bat and ball in Bristol. She’ll start with the new white nut to Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge. Decent crowd in at the Oval, apparently 14,000 ticket sales in the bag and more people streaming in for some Friday night entertainment. Let’s play!
The players take the field in lovely evening sunshine, we’ll be underway very shortly. Can England put up an imposing total and give themselves a chance to get back into the series? Let’s find out!
A truly crackers third day is coming to an end over in Edgbaston. I’ll forgive you for having one eye on that one until we get going here. Taha is on the tools:
England win the toss and choose to bat first
The coin falls England’s way and Tammy Beaumont doesn’t hesitate to have first use of the biscuit coloured wicket. The sun is beating down in South London but there is a nice breeze too, I’d expect it to be a very nice batting wicket and a quick scoring outfield.
India namer an unchanged side, and why wouldn’t they, they’ve been magnificent so far in this series.
Three ch ch changes for England – Paige Schofield, Charlie Dean and Issy Wong replace Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith and Em Arlott.
Teams:
England: Dunkley, Wyatt-Hodge, Beaumont, Jones, Capsey, Schofield, Dean, Ecclestone, Wong, Filer, Bell
India: Mandhana, Shafali, Harmanpreet, Jemimah, Amanjot, Richa, Deepti, Radha, Reddy, Rana, Charani
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to sunny South London and the third T20I between England and India at the Oval. The series is on the line already for Charlotte Edwards’ England side after two heavy defeats at Trent Bridge and Bristol see India 2-0 up and needing just one more victory to claim the five match series at the first opportunity.
England will be without their captain this evening and potentially for the rest of the series. Nat Sciver-Brunt suffered a groin strain during her side’s 24-run defeat in the West Country on Tuesday and remains a doubt for the remainder of the series.
Tammy Beaumont steps up to captain the side for the first time in her 247 match international career, the pint sized opener struck a pugilistic tone in her pre match media duties:
“The worst thing we could do right now is panic… obviously, it’s not the circumstances we wanted to be in. We didn’t want to be 2-0 down, and we didn’t want our captain and best batter to be out of the team. But we’re here where we are, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”
We’re here where we are? I think Oasis might be dusting that off in Cardiff later this evening.
Play gets underway at the slightly curious time of 6.35pm, I’ll be back shortly with news of the teams and toss.
