I’ll call it a day there. That was a rather disappointing contest for the netural, and pretty horrid if you’re an India fan. If you’re a smiling England supporter, it could get even better tomorrow with the prospect of a 3-0 series win. Join James Wallace for that one. Cheers!
Just 27.4 overs played in that game, with England chasing their target down inside 12 overs. Alice Capsey’s got the mic, having top-scored with 25 – she admits that England still haven’t played a perfect game.
But they’ve still won the series, and tomorrow – the third T20I – presents an opportunity for a clean sweep.
England win by four wickets!
Ecclestone tries to hit Patil out of the park … but gets an edge that trickles away to the third-man rope for four. And that’s that! What an odd game that was. It may just be by four wickets, but I’d still say that was a shellacking.
11th over: England 76-6 (Ecclestone 3, Knight 7) Ecclestone is happy to keep sweeping and she picks up a single to keep the strike. England need five more runs.
Ecclestone to face Deepti’s hat-trick ball. There are fielders crowded around the bat … and Ecclestone swings across the line, with an edge trickling away to fine leg for a couple.
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WICKET! Kemp lbw Deepti 0 (England 73-6)
Oooooh! Kemp is trapped in front first ball by Deepti – there’s a review but the left-hander has to go. Well, well, well, are we on here?
WICKET! Jones c Vastrakar b Deepti 5 (England 73-5)
England continue to tease India, with Jones reverse-sweeping to gift a simple grab to the fielder at 45.
10th over: England 73-4 (Jones 5, Knight 7) Amy Jones begins with a cheeky paddle sweep to steal a couple of runs. She gets two more with her next delivery, and a single keeps the England keeper on strike for the next over. England need eight runs … from 60 balls.
WICKET! Capsey c Amanjot (sub) b Ishaque 25 (England 68-4)
Knight plays a wonderful stroke, skipping down the pitch to go inside-out over extra cover for four, Ishaque the bowler who suffers. And then a stunning grab! Capsey tries to go aerial over cover but the substitute fielder Amanjot Kaur leaps to her left to hold on with one hand.
9th over: England 63-3 (Knight 2, Capsey 25) A bit of peace and quiet as Deepti Sharma’s off-breaks concede just one from the over. India opt for a hopeful, cheeky-wink review to close the over as Capsey fails to make contact with a reverse-sweep – but the ball pitched outside leg.
8th over: England 62-3 (Knight 1, Capsey 25) The England captain emerges for the final stages. They need 19 runs from 12 overs.
WICKET! Sciver-Brunt b Vastrakar 16 (England 61-3)
A Pooja Vastrakar bouncer goes over the keeper’s head and is signalled a wide. Sciver-Brunt then absolutely obliterates a fuller delivery that deflects off the fielder at mid-on and runs away to the boundary. But here’s a consolation: Sciver-Brunt is somehow bowled trying to flick to the on side, having left her leg stump slightly exposed.
7th over: England 55-2 (Capsey 25, Sciver-Brunt 12) Renuka continues for her fourth and final over as India ask for a miracle. Capsey would rather have an early night, though, and she slaps a slower ball down to long-off for four. Renuka responds with a fine yorker and she finishes with figures of 2-26. England need 26 from 13 overs.
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6th over: England 49-2 (Sciver-Brunt 11, Capsey 20) Ouch! Sciver-Brunt hits Ishaque hard … but the ball strikes Capsey on the full. The non-striker smiles off the pain before Sciver-Brunt launches the left-arm spinner for six over long-on. Capsey closes the over with a boundary and England need just 32 from 14 overs.
5th over: England 38-2 (Sciver-Brunt 4, Capsey 16) Capsey tries to ramp Renuka, gets an edge that somehow evades the stumps, and the ball is stopped at slip from running away for four. Renuka, angling the ball in and attacking the stumps, was India’s best bowler the other day and it seems like it’ll be the same story today. There’s a run-out shout as the stumps are hit at the non-striker’s end, but Alice Capsey had her bat grounded in. The over is closed by Capsey hitting hard in front of point for four.
4th over: England 28-2 (Capsey 6, Sciver-Brunt 4) Capsey punches Sadhu – it’s the battle of the teens – through the covers to pick up her first four. Sciver-Brunt then plays the shot of the day, driving through extra cover to get off the mark with a boundary.
WICKET! Wyatt b Renuka 0 (England 19-2)
Alice Capsey, bowled first ball on Wednesday, gets herself off strike with a single but Wyatt’s on her way! This is a gorgeous delivery from Renuka, swinging in to beat the waft of the bat and light up the stumps. Game on?
3rd over: England 19-2 (Capsey 1, Sciver-Brunt 0)
WICKET! Dunkley b Renuka 9 (England 18-1)
Dunkley slaps the ball hard towards Harmanpreet at mid-off, with the ball dropping just short of a catch. And then a wicket! Dunkley tries to make room for an off-side smash and is bowled by Renuka. A scratchy knock from the England opener comes to an end.
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2nd over: England 17-0 (Wyatt 0, Dunkley 9) Sadhu, just 19 years old, begins with three dots before going too short to Dunkley, who pulls away to deep backward square for four. Dunkley follows up with a rusty play-and-miss before recovering well to guide the ball behind point for another boundary.
1st over: England 9-0 (Dunkley 1, Wyatt 0) Renuka begins with a leg-side wide … and then the same again, with the ball running all the way to the boundary as Richa Ghosh is up to the stumps. England are 6-0 and a legit ball hasn’t been bowled. Renuka eventually finds her line, getting an outside edge off Dunkley’s bat which strikes the keeper’s thigh. Dunkley tries to go over extra cover but doesn’t get clean contact, the shot rather edgy as she collects a single. Another leg-side wide follows. There’s just one run off the bat in the over but it’s still a good start for England.
We’re back underway. Renuka has the ball for India, and Dunkley’s on strike.
Here’s that Ecclestone return catch. It’s one of those grabs that would make me feel very nervy as a TV umpire.
Sophie Ecclestone has taken an absolute blinder!
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 9, 2023
The perfect caught and bowled 👏#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/X1oiXA64T8
England need 81 runs to win from 20 overs
Charlie Dean took 2-16, Ecclestone and Glenn both nabbed 2-13, Bell 2-18, and a wicket each for Sciver-Brunt and Freya Kemp. Dean talks the broadcasters through her bowling display, and it’s interesting hearing her speak about her variations, with one of them an off-break with a scrambled seam – think that was the one that did for Mandhana. She was terrific today, setting the tone for England with the new ball.
WICKET! Ishaque b Eccclestone 8 (India 80 all out)
Ecclestone tosses it up, Ishaque goes for a huge swing across the line, misses and India are done. It’s been a very, very poor batting performance by the hosts.
16th over: India 79-9 (Ishaque 8, Renuka 1) All of the England bowlers are on the scoresheet, by the way.
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WICKET! Sadhu c&b Bell 2 (India 77-9)
Banged in short by Bell, Sadhu top-edges the ball high into the Mumbai sky, and the quick holds on.
15th over: India 75-8 (Sadhu 1, Ishaque 7) Ishaque goes for a big swing off Dean but can only find Ecclestone at mid-on … but she puts it down, diving forward. Ishaque gets her hoick right at the end of the over, finding four down the ground.
14th over: India 69-8 (Ishaque 2, Sadhu 0) Ecclestone fires in a yorker to Sadhu, which somehow doesn’t light up the stumps. Just one run off the over.
13th over: India 68-8 (Ishaque 1, Sadhu 0) The enduring sight of the India innings has been batters playing across the line and missing. It’s been a puzzling watch.
WICKET! Jemimah lbw Glenn 30 (India 67-8)
Jemimah is India’s lone ranger, and she plays a couple of excellent sweeps off Glenn to pick up back-to-back boundaries. But this ain’t India’s day: Jemimah then tries to clip into the leg side but misses and is trapped back in her crease.
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WICKET! Shreyanka c Jones b Kemp 4 (India 59-7)
Freya Kemp gets a go – Knight seems to be enjoying constantly mixing up her bowling options, not letting India settle down with any members of the attack. And here’s another one – Kemp goes around the wicket to Shreyanka, gets a little bit of jag away from the right-hander, and a prod results in an outside edge that is snaffled by Jones.
12th over: India 59-7 (Jemimah 22, Sadhu 0)
11th over: India 54-6 (Jemimah 21, Shreyanka 3) Ecclestone runs through the over, with Jemimah still up for the battle, knocking it about and running hard.
10th over: India 47-6 (Jemimah 15, Shreyanka 2) Shreyanka, playing just her second international, arrives to the crease with her side in crisis and me scrambling to find India’s lowest scores on Statsguru.
“It was great news for us Lancashire supporters when it was announced that we’d signed Nathan Lyon,” writes Matt Taylor.
“It meant that Lancashire have the best spin bowler on the planet in their ranks. And that she’ll probably get to meet Nathan Lyon.” Very good.
WICKET! Vastrakar b Glenn 6 (India 45-6)
India are having a total shocker. Vastrakar comes down the pitch to try and play a forward defence to Glenn – she misses and the leg-spinner hits.
9th over: India 43-5 (Vastrakar 5, Jemimah 14) Dean returns, which is a bit of a surprise – I expected Knight to go in for the kill with another Ecclestone set. The batting pair settle for running hard, collecting four singles and a two.
8th over: India 37-5 (Jemimah 10, Vastrakar 3) There’s nearly a run-out to close the over as Glenn twirls her way through a maiden.
7th over: India 37-5 (Vastrakar 3, Jemimah 10) Jemimah desperately needs one of her mates to hang about. Ecclestone was stunned by her own brilliance there, obviously chuffed by the fact that she managed to hold on to a very difficult chance.
WICKET! Richa c&b Ecclestone 4 (India 34-5)
And now India have to deal with the best bowler in the world, Sophie Ecclestone. Jemimah sweeps for a single after a couple of dots, and then Ecclestone holds on for a return grab! Richa departs, with Ecclestone diving low to her left to take it one-handed. They’re checking that she’s not grounded it, and the TV umps is happy that it’s been taking cleanly.
6th over: India 33-4 (Jemimah 9, Richa 4) Richa Ghosh plays a tidy pull behind square on the leg side for four to give India their breath back. The powerplay belongs to England, their stump-to-stump bowling causing all sorts of bother.
WICKET! Deepti c Jones b Bell 0 (India 29-4)
Oh dear. It’s wide from Bell and Deepti, the new batter, can’t help herself – she flashes at the ball and gifts an edge behind the stumps to Jones to depart for a second-ball duck.
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5th over: India 28-3 (Jemimah 8, Deepti 0) England just keep on smackin’ the pads.
WICKET! Harmanpreet lbw Sciver-Brunt 9 (India 28-3)
Sciver-Brunt continues and Harmanpreet gets on one knee to play a lovely little paddle around the corner to fine leg for four. And then she repeats the trick immediately, with Sciver-Brunt’s line just a little too straight – four more, and that’s delightful batting. Sciver-Brunt adjusts her line to force a forward defence from Harmanpreet, and then she traps the batter in front! The finger goes up, but Harmanpreet reviews … there’s no bat on it and it’s three reds! Sciver-Brunt wins the duel.
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4th over: India 19-2 (Jemimah 7, Harmanpreet 1) Dean’s barely got any turn to play with – but she’s bowling with immaculate control.
WICKET! Mandhana lbw Dean 10 (India 17-2)
Brilliant from Dean, who gets the ball to slide on from around the wicket and trap Mandhana in front. The India batter opts for a review but it’s comfortably three reds. It was too full a ball to go back to – India are in a bit of bother, having lost their two openers cheaply.
3rd over: India 17-1 (Mandhana 10, Rodrigues 6) Sciver-Brunt replaces Dean and Mandhana guides the seamer behind point for her second four. The England all-rounder got a bit of early swing the other night but there’s not a great deal on offer at the moment. She still manages to keep things tight, though.
2nd over: India 11-1 (Jemimah 5, Mandhana 5) Lauren Bell takes the ball from the other end, and Mandhana guides a fuller delivery through point for India’s first boundary. Jemimah pushes through the covers for a couple, and India take nine off the over.
1st over: India 2-1 (Jemimah 1, Mandhana 0) Dean immediately slides the ball past Jemimah Rodrigues’ outside edge – there’s no real turn here with the new ball, but the skiddy, straight delivery is causing some trouble. Jemimah gets off strike with a single, a leg-side wide follows, and Mandhana blocks out a lovely, loopy delivery to close the over.
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WICKET! Shafali lbw Dean 0 (India 0-1)
Gone second ball! Shafali’s trapped in front, trying to play across the line on the backfoot and the ball goes straight on to make it an easy call for the umps.
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Alright, let’s get going. Charlie Dean’s going to open up for England, bowling to Shafali Verma.
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Some news from elsewhere – Alyssa Healy’s got the top job in the Australian game.
Nice chat being shown on TNT between the two India debutants from the other day, Shreyanka Patil and Saika Ishaque, that obvious sense of them just being really chuffed to have become international cricketers. I was particularly impressed by Shreyanka’s off-breaks – thought she got some decent shape on the ball with a pretty smooth action.
The teams
India have gone the other way, bringing in a seamer for a spinner, with Titas Sadhu replacing Kanika Ahuja.
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Titas Sadhu, Renuka Singh, Saika Ishaque
England: Sophia Dunkley, Danni Wyatt, Alice Capsey, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight (c), Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Charlie Dean, Lauren Bell
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England win the toss and choose to bowl first
Heather Knight says this ground favours chasing, and England have brought in Charlie Dean for Mahika Gaur, which the skipper says is a tactical call.
We may have an international on, but the glitzy franchise stuff never stops – the Women’s Premier League auction is playing out today, with Danni Wyatt and Kate Cross nabbing deals among the English contingent. Wyatt is off to UP Warriorz and Cross will play for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Cannot wait for this 😃💛💜 https://t.co/1wSY6ljUMK
— Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) December 9, 2023
Can’t wait ❤️ https://t.co/vrWpjd6TC1
— Kate Cross (@katecross16) December 9, 2023
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Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to coverage of the second T20I between England and India at the Wankhede Stadium! The visitors put in a properly professional display in the series opener, recovering from an early meltdown to post a gargantuan 197-6, with Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt whacking quickfire 70-odds. India’s spinners were slightly all over the shop and the England duo of Sarah Glenn and Sophie Ecclestone outbowled them, the latter marking her return from injury with a delightful 3-15 to complete a comfortable 38-run win. Here’s to a more nail-biting affair today.
Play begins at 1.30pm GMT, and I’ll be around for the whole thing. Get in touch with your thoughts, queries, favourite Christmas movies, recommendations for things to do in Tooting (I’m moving in a couple of days), Spotify Wrapped results, whatever you fancy. Cheers!
