Poor England slump to second T20 defeat by India
England dominated the opening powerplay as India slipped to 31-3 - including Saturday's centurion Smriti Mandhana for 13 - but contributions of 63 apiece from Jemimah Rodrigues and Amanjot Kaur led a brilliant recovery to 181-4 on Tuesday.
The pair added 93 for the fourth wicket as England lost control of the middle overs, before Richa Ghosh's unbeaten 32 boosted the innings at the death.
In reply, England's all-too-familiar batting frailties were exposed once again as they failed to recover from an early wobble to 17-3, eventually scrambling to 157-7 after Tammy Beaumont's 54 and a cameo of 35 from Sophie Ecclestone.
Openers Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley fell in the first two overs and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt was caught at mid-on for 13, before Beaumont's counter-attacking knock kept England in the game with 106 needed from the final 10 overs.
But Beaumont's run-out in the 12th over shifted the game back in India's favour and Amy Jones - who added 70 for the fourth wicket with Beaumont - and Alice Capsey both followed shortly after in the 15th, dismissed by the left-arm spin of Shree Charani.
Ecclestone's 23-ball knock ensured England finished with some respectability but with many of the same mistakes repeated from the thrashing at Trent Bridge, the new leadership of Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards is being put to the test by a rapidly improving India who are building plenty of confidence going into their home 50-over World Cup in the autumn, according to a BBC news.
If India's dominance at Trent Bridge was lit up by Mandhana's individual class, this innings required an all-round team effort after their powerhouses - Mandhana herself and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was returning from injury, both fell cheaply.
England experimented with Capsey's off-spin for the first over, which conceded 11, but seamers Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer dragged the control back brilliantly.
The latter dismissed Shafali Verma with an unplayable short ball that reared up and pinned the opener on the glove to be caught behind, Em Arlott had Mandhana well caught at mid-on by Bell before Harmanpreet pulled a poor delivery to short fine leg.
But Rodrigues, who came in at three, settled into her knock with exceptionally judged running between the wickets and putting the pressure on England's fielders before unveiling an array of ramps over the keeper and her movement around the crease completely threw England's bowlers
off their length.
Amanjot took a backseat in the partnership, but when Rodrigues was dismissed thanks to Dunkley's flying catch at cover off Bell, Amanjot stepped up with her maiden T20 fifty and with Ghosh - who was inexplicably dropped by Beaumont on 12 - took the game away from England.
Bell was exceptional for her 2-17 but India were smart with their targets, taking 43 from Arlott's four overs, 42 from Filer's extra pace and Linsey Smith struggled again with 37 conceded from three wicketless overs.
Faced with a competitive total on a sluggish surface, there was a feeling of inevitability around how England's innings would unfold, and it started to unravel almost immediately.
Dunkley was run out at the end of the first over by Deepti Sharma before she then dismissed Wyatt-Hodge from the first ball of the second, bizarrely striking the ball straight to mid-off as the opener now has just one run from her past four T20 innings.
Sciver-Brunt fell in the fourth over but Beaumont, recently recalled to the T20 side after a couple of years in and out, seemed to learn from India's batters and shifted around the crease efficiently to force the spinners off target with eight fours and a six, batting with her trademark swagger and a determined look to steer her side to victory.
But she was called through for a risky single from Jones, and Sneh Rana at point pulled off an exceptional piece of work to summarise India's noticeable improvement in the field, swooping and throwing in one movement while still on her knees, with bowler Radha Yadav whipping off the bails
as Beaumont's full-stretch dive left her just short of her ground.
From there, it was a procession. Another soft dismissal for Capsey saw her chip Shree Charani to cover for five, Jones was caught and bowled four balls later and despite Ecclestone and Arlott's entertaining seventh-wicket stand of 47, the result was already a foregone conclusion.
England are without Heather Knight's middle-order stability, but the repetitive manner of these defeats are a concern with the World Cup approaching and only three 50-over matches to come beforehand.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt said, "I thought we started off well in the powerplay with three wickets. Every bowler that came on was really focused on that but then they got a big partnership, which we didn't adapt to as quickly as we'd like.
"Some positives - Lauren Bell bowled a brilliant four overs and everyone really stuck to the task and tried to grind it out so the effort was really there."
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, "It was a good win for us. It's something special to see.
"We stay positive, see how many runs we can put on the board and see how our bowlers can contribute.
"It's a long time before the T20 World Cup. At the moment our main focus is on this series."
UNI BM
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