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In the decider of the three-T20I series at The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, Alice Capsey and Heather Knight gave Harmanpreet Kaur's India a wake-up call ahead of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026. Host England chased down the target of 181 with six wickets in hand and nine balls to spare to win the series 2-1.
Yastika run out again, Harmanpreet scores fifty
Earlier, Charlotte Dean won the toss and opted to bowl first. Shafali Verma hit a couple of boundaries before falling to no.1 ICC T20I bowler Linsey Smith. In the fourth over, Dean got the better of Smriti Mandhana for a single-digit score in the fourth over. Yastika Bhatia made up for the slow knock in the previous game with a flurry of boundaries during fielding restrictions. India were 57/2 after powerplay overs. But, Yastika's knock came to an end soon after the fielding restrictions were lifted as she was run out by Sophie Ecclestone's direct hit. She scored 32 runs from 18 deliveries, including seven fours.
Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur looked to attack in middle overs. Lauren Bell was brought back into the attack and she dismissed Jemimah for a 19-ball 29. Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma shared a 67-run partnership for the fifth wicket. In the last over, Harmanpreet reached her 18th T20I fifty from 38 deliveries. Her unbeaten 40-ball 56 took India to 180/5.
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Alice, Heather lead England to record run chase
In the run chase, England's run chase did not get off to an ideal start. Kranti Gaud dismissed Dannielle Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones whereas Arundhati Reddy got the better of Sophia Dunkley. But the run rate did not go down. Alice did not let the pressure get to her and hit Kranti for a six and two fours. England were 53/3 after powerplay overs. Alice and Heather looked to attack in the middle overs, keeping the required run rate down. There were a couple of boundary-less overs in the middle but Alice and Heather paced the run chase well.
In the 12th over, Alice completed her half-century from 27 deliveries. The duo took the game away even before the slog overs. In the 15th over, Heather reached her fifty from 31 balls. In the same over, Alice hit Shree for a four and a couple of sixes. In the 18th over, Arundhati got the consolation wicket of Alice. She scored 82 runs from 43 deliveries, featuring nine fours and three sixes. Alice and Heather shared a 137-run partnership, the second-highest for England against India in T20Is. In the penultimate over, Heather finished the match with a boundary. She remained unbeaten for 70 off 42 balls. This was the highest successful T20I run chase on England soil.
After the series defeat, India will face West Indies in their first warm-up game on June 8 at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Then, they will go up against England in their second warm-up match on June 10 at Derby's County Ground.
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