The second T20I of the all-format women's Ashes 2023 turned out to be a thriller of a contest. In a high-scoring encounter, hosts England registered their first win of the series by just three runs at Kennington Oval, London. English opener Danielle Wyatt starred with a 46-ball 76 as Ellyse Perry's unbeaten 51 and cameos from lower order went in vain.
Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley got England off to a good start as they scored 54 runs in powerplay overs. Darcie Brown got the breakthrough in the seventh over with Dunkley's wicket as the top-edge went into Tahlia McGrath's hands. Dunkley scored 23 runs from 19 balls. Wyatt and Nat Sciver-Brunt kept the tempo up as England had 87/1 at halfway stage.
In the 12th over, Gardner broke the partnership. Nat got out after scoring 23 runs from 18 balls. In the next over, Annabel Sutherland struck off consecutive deliveries to get rid of Alice Capsey and skipper Heather Knight. In the 15th over, Wyatt got to her half-century off 36 balls. But Danielle Gibson struggled and fell for a single-digit score to Perry.
Wyatt went ballistic in the 16th over as she smashed Megan Schutt for four consecutive fours in the 25-run over. Sutherland in her last over got the big wicket of Wyatt. She went for an upper-cut but found the third-man fielder Georgia Wareham. Her 46-ball 76 was studded with 13 fours. In the penultimate over, Sophie Ecclestone hit McGrath for two fours and a six. Ashleigh Gardner finished well as she took the wicket of Sarah Glenn and did not concede a single boundary in the final over. Ecclestone got run out off the final ball for a 12-ball 22 but her cameo helped England post 186/9.
In the run chase of 187, Australian openers started off well. While Beth Mooney rotated the strike, Healy took the attacking role. After powerplay overs, Australia had 58 runs on the board. Glenn broke the partnership in the seventh over. Healy got bowled trying to play across the stumps. She scored 37 runs from 19 balls including five fours and two sixes. In the next over, McGrath got run out. The pressure got to Mooney as well. She got out to Gibson for a 25-ball 22 in the ninth over. The Ecclestone made Gardner her 100th T20I victim in the 10th over.
Charlotte Dean came back into the attack and Grace Harris got bowled. Sutherland contributed with a 12-ball 20 cameo. After her wicket, Perry hit a few boundaries. She got support from Wareham who hit two sixes and a four in Dean's over. In the penultimate over, Lauren Bell ended Wareham's cameo. In the last over, Australia needed 20 runs to win. Jess Jonassen got out off the second delivery. When perry got on strike, Australia needed 18 runs. Perry got a couple of runs. She followed it up with two consecutive sixes to get to her half-century as Australia could post 183/8 and lost the match by three runs.
The Ashes series is now 6-2 in favour of Australia with one T20I and three ODIs left. The third T20I will be played at Lord's London on July 8.
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