India Women's Record Historic First Multi-Match T20I Series Win vs England

India won the first T20I by 97 runs

The Indian women's cricket team began the 5 match T20I series with a 97-run win on June 28 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. With captain Harmanpreet Kaur missing the match due to a head injury just prior to the match, it was Smriti Mandhana who was named the stand-in captain.

And she led the side beautifully. Mandhana scored her maiden T20 International century as she scored 112 runs in the match. Combined with Harleen Deol’s 43-run inning, the Indian women's team scored 210 runs in 20 overs.

They then got the hosts out for just 113 runs. Debutant Nallapureddy Charani was the top performer with the ball for Team India as picked up 4 wickets for just 12 runs in the match. Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav also contributed with 2 wickets each.

India won by 24 runs in 2nd T20I

Regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur was fit to play the match and took charge for Smriti Mandhana, who led the team in the previous match. 

India set a target of 182 runs in Bristol's Seat Unique Stadium after batting first in this match. This time, Jemimah Rodrigues and Amanjot Kaur played superbly for the Indian women's team. Amanjot stayed undefeated as both batters scored 63 runs. Wicketkeeper Batter Richa Ghosh also played a cameo of 32 runs off 40 balls.

Chasing the target of 182 runs, England were struggling in the match. The duo of Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones tried their best to get Team England back on track. Yet, the spectacular bowling efforts from Nallapureddy Charani, Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur was enough to stop England. Charani was in great form in this match as well as he picked 2 wickets for 28 runs in her 4 overs.

England bounced back in 3rd T20I

In the meantime, England recovered to make the series score 1-2 in the third Twenty20 International in London. Regular England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt missed the match due to an injury, and Tammy Beaumont led the side in this match.

England scored 171 runs while batting first in this match. It was largely thanks to the wonderful efforts of the opening duo of Sophia Dunkley and Danny Wyatt. The duo added 137 runs for the opening wicket. Dunkley was the top scorer with 75 runs, while Wyatt scored 66 runs.

Arundhati Reddy and Deepti Sharma tried their best to stop the England batters, with 3 wickets each for both the Indian bowlers. Charani also chipped in with 2 wickets. However, the batters were disappointing while chasing 172 runs.

Despite several good innings from the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Team India lost the match by 6 runs. It was a nail-biting finish where India needed six runs off the last ball. Captain Harmanpreet tried to go for the big shot, but eventually it was taken as England won by 6 runs to make 1-2 in the series.

India won the series in Manchester

But eventually, the Indian women's team won the series in Manchester at the Emirates Old Trafford ground. It was a slow pitch where the England batters really struggled against the Indian bowlers.

Radha Yadav and Nallapureddy Charani both took 2 wickets while Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur picked 1 wicket each as England were restricted to only 126 runs in the 20 overs. Tammy Beaumont and Sophie Dunkley were the only two players who scored 20 or more runs.

As for Team India, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma had set the tone for the chase with a 56-run opening partnership. They both scored 32 and 31 runs respectively. Despite Team India losing a few wickets, Jemimah Rodrigues maintained her cool and guided Team India to victory by 6 wickets with a 24-run inning of 24 balls. With this win, Team India has taken an unassailable 1-3 lead in the series with only one match remaining.

The final T20I match of the series will be played on July 12, at the Edgbaston Ground in Birmingham. The action will begin from 11:05 P.M. Indian Standard Time (IST).