The Indian spinners worked wonders during the final overs as the visitors edged out England by eight runs in the second T20I to level the three-match series here on Sunday.
Batting first, India lost its way after a good start provided by opener Shafali Verma (48, 38b, 8×4, 1×6) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s 31 (25b, 2×4, 2×6) to finish on 148 for four.
A flurry of boundaries from Shafali helped India race to 47 for no loss in four overs. The 17-year-old produced the kind of hitting she is known for as she slog swept left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone for a four and six before smashing pacer Katherine Brunt for five boundaries in a row.
The more experienced Smriti Mandhana (20 off 16) was happy being a spectator at the other end.
Harmanpreet, who promoted herself to No. 3, finally found some form and chipped in along with Deepti (24 off 27). In reply, opener Tammy Beaumont’s 59 (50b, 7×4) and skipper Heather Knight’s 30 (28b, 4×4) put England in a solid position before it was restricted to 140 for eight in 20 overs.
Poonam Yadav (two for 17) and Deepti Sharma (one for 18) brought India back into the game in the final five overs.
The scores: India 148/4 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 48, Harmanpreet Kaur 31) bt England 140/8 in 20 overs (Tammy Beaumont 59, Heather Knight 30, Poonam Yadav 2/17).
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