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England Women held their nerve to eke out a consolation five-wicket win against India Women in the fifth and final T20I at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday.
The Women in Blue, who had secured the series victory in the previous match, were unable to defend 167 and lost a last-ball thriller against the host.
AS IT HAPPENED: ENG-W vs IND-W Highlights
England got off to a blazing start as openers Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophie Dunkley stitched together a 101-run partnership. Wyatt-Hodge, playing in her 300th international match, led the charge with a rapid half-century off 30 balls.
India finally broke the stand just past the halfway mark when Radha Yadav dismissed Dunkley. Deepti Sharma struck in the very next over to remove Wyatt-Hodge, bringing the visitor back into the contest.
However, India’s fielding left much to be desired — misfields and dropped chances allowed England to stay in control. England skipper Tammy Beaumont then played a crucial hand, scoring a brisk 30 off 20 balls to keep the momentum going.
With six runs needed off the final over, the match tilted again.
Arundhati Reddy struck twice in the first three balls — cleaning up Beaumont with the very first delivery and then watching Radha Yadav pull off a stunning catch in the deep to dismiss Amy Jones.
However, with just one run needed off the last ball, Sophie Ecclestone managed to steal a tight single and seal the win for England.
Earlier, India’s batting performance was underwhelming, apart from an explosive knock by opener Shafali Verma. The 21-year-old was at her aggressive best, smashing the second-fastest T20I half-century (23 balls) by an Indian woman.
She went on to score a blazing 75 before falling to a brilliant catch by Maia Bouchier off Charlie Dean’s bowling. Dean went to take two more scalps, finishing with figures of three for 23, effectively stifling India’s middle order.
India won the five-match WT20I series 3-2.
