Indian women's cricket team pulled off a thrilling five-wicket win over England in the third T20I match in Mumbai on Sunday, December 10. Young spinners Shreyanka Patil and Saika Ishaque shone in a dead rubber to bowl out England on 126 runs and then a brilliant knock by star batter Smriti Mandhana helped India finish the series with a 1-2 loss.
Having already lost the series, India lost the toss in the final game and were forced to bowl first at Wankhede Stadium. England made four changes to their playing eleven with Maia Bouchier, Danielle Gibson, Bess Heath and Mahika Gaur coming in while Amanjot Kaur replaced all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar in the only change for India.
Once again, premier pacer Renuka Singh gave India a sensational start by bowling out Maia Bouchier on the third delivery of the game. She also dismissed Sophia Dunkley in the third over to give India a perfect start. Indian spinners stole the show with Shreyanka Patil and Saika Ishaque making an impact with three wickets each. Amanjot also bagged two wickets to prove her selection over Vastrakar.
For England, captain Heather Knight led by example by top-scoring with a brilliant 52 runs off 42 balls. Knight and Charlie Dean added 50 runs for the ninth wicket to put a total of 126 runs in 20 overs.
Indian batters also struggled for a positive start with youngster Shafali Verma walking out in the third over after scoring just six runs. But struggling stars Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues scorched 57 runs for the second wicket to regain control of the game.
England managed to make a comeback through Freya Kemp and Sophie Ecclestone's two wickets each but India survived the late scare. Mandhana missed her fifty by two runs but Amanjot scored winning runs with two consecutive fours in the 19th over. Shreyanka bagged the Player of the Match award while Natalie Sciver-Brunt claimed the Player of the series title.
India Women Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shreyanka Patil, Titas Sadhu, Amanjot Kaur, Renuka Thakur Singh, Saika Ishaque
England Women Playing XI: Sophia Dunkley, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Heather Knight (c), Amy Jones (wk), Danielle Gibson, Bess Heath, Freya Kemp, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlotte Dean, Mahika Gaur
