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Smriti Mandhana-led India's women's team clinched a historic series win over England women's in the fourth T20I at Old Trafford on July 10.
The Women's in Blue put an a dominating all-round show to not only crush England by six wickets but also pocket the five-match series 3-1. Notably, this was India's first-ever bilateral T20I series win against England. Moreover, it represented their maiden multi-match series win on English soil, a feat they had previously been unable to accomplish in their six past away series against the same opponents.
After winning the toss, England opted to bat first and began their innings with a positive intent, thanks to their openers Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley. However, their early momentum was halted when Shree Charani dismissed Wyatt-Hodge in the third over, with the score at 21. Dunkley continued to play fluently, scoring 22 runs off 19 balls, but her dismissal by Deepti Sharma at the end of the powerplay left England at 38 for 2. Following this, captain Tammy Beaumont and Alice Capsey attempted to stabilize the innings, building a 35-run partnership that took the hosts to 68 for 2 at the halfway mark of their innings.
However, India's bowling attack managed to regain control of the game in the latter half of England's innings. Radha Yadav bowled a disciplined spell, conceding only 15 runs and taking 2 wickets in her four overs, which effectively slowed down the scoring rate in the middle overs. Shree Charani also contributed significantly, taking 2 wickets for 30 runs. As a result of this disciplined bowling performance, England could only manage to score 42 runs and lost five wickets in the final nine overs. Despite a late surge of 16 runs in the final over by Issy Wong and Sophie Ecclestone, England finished with a modest total of 126 for 7.
In response, India's batting got off to an aggressive start. The opening pair of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana capitalized on the powerplay overs, quickly reaching a score of 56 in less than five overs. Verma was dismissed in the seventh over after scoring 31 runs, and Mandhana followed soon after, having scored 28. Following the openers' dismissal, Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur forged a composed 48-run partnership, bringing India close to the winning target. Although Kaur was dismissed when only 10 more runs were needed for victory, Rodrigues remained unbeaten and guided her team to victory with three overs to spare.
This series began with a dominant 97-run victory for India at Trent Bridge, which marked their largest T20I win against England. They followed this up with a 24-run victory in Bristol. England managed to secure a narrow five-run win in the third T20I at The Oval, but India responded strongly in Manchester to clinch the series. The fifth and final T20I match is scheduled to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Following this T20I series, both teams will shift their focus to a three-match ODI series, which is set to get underway on July 16.
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