A brilliant display from the bowlers helped England to a narrow five-wicket win over India in the fifth T20 at Edgbaston on Saturday evening. The victory came as nothing more than a consolation, as India had already sealed the series with a 3-2 advantage. Chasing down a target of 168 runs, England showed their character and quality with a brilliant last over finish.
India went out to bat first and scored an imposing total of 167 runs. With a total of just 69 runs, they lost seven of their wickets in their allotted twenty overs. Among batters, Shafali Verma was the star for India with a blistering knock of 75 runs from 41 balls. Her aggressive batting paved the way for a daunting total for the hosts to chase.
England’s response was anchored by Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who scored 56 runs from 36 balls, alongside Sophia Dunkley, who contributed to an impressive opening partnership of 101 runs. Even after losing the key wickets of Tammy Beaumont for 30 and Amy Jones for 10, England were still in the hunt.
As the game headed to a nail-biting finish, England required six runs in the last over to win. Incredibly, they were still seven wickets down! With Ecclestone and Scholfield racing for runs to take England home, the atmosphere turned electric. Midfielders Ecclestone and Scholfield worked tirelessly in the attack. They needed three runs from the fourth ball of the final over, completing the victory in a tense finish.
Charlie Dean had a breakout year for England. She took 3 for 23, arguably her best performance coming with the attacking scalp of Verma. For her historic performance, she was awarded Player of the Match. Reflecting on her bowling, Dean stated,
“Shafali [Verma] was creating width and we had to bowl really tight lines. I kept things really simple today which maybe I hadn’t done in the past – and I am really happy with that.”
The series hadn’t always been easy for England, with their captain Tammy Beaumont admitting that India had been the better side for large parts of it. She remarked,
“It’s been a difficult series for us but credit to India, they’ve come over and played some challenging cricket with real power in their batting line-up. At times we haven’t had the right answers.”
India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed satisfaction with her team’s efforts despite the loss in this final match. She commented,
“I am really happy with the way we played today. It was a very close game. The team put up a great effort in the end.”
Despite the state of the series whitewash, this match was memorable for being England’s biggest successful chase in a home T20 match and highlighted their potential. Real soccer with real passion The fever of the match was felt not only in the stands, but by pundits and former players. Alex Hartley noted,
“India have walked the series even though England have won two games. This game was what I was expecting from this series – close contests, good cricket.”
The competitive spirit shown by both teams during this incredible series epitomized their journey and growth. England fell short of winning the series, but their performance in the final match serves as a promising indicator for future contests.
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