India 127 for 5 (Mandhana 48, Rodrigues 29, Kemp 2-24) beat England 126 (Knight 52, Patil 3-19, Ishaque 3-22) by five wickets
With India needing 11 runs off the last two overs, Sophie Ecclestone bowled Richa Ghosh attempting to paddle and put some pressure back on India but Amanjot, who replaced Pooja Vastrakar in the side, pierced the covers for four next ball to ease the tension and another four levelled the scores before her reverse sweep took her to 13 not out in just four balls and India to victory.
Newcomers shine for India
Patil and Ishaque, who both made their T20I debuts in the first match of this series, were pivotal in England’s demise. Patil, the 21-year-old offspinner, held on at deep midwicket to remove Amy Jones for 25 off 21 and give Ishaque her second in as many overs, sparking the rot for England. Left-arm spinner Ishaque, a revelation as the inaugural WPL’s second-highest wicket-taker, had already had Alice Capsey taken by Rodrigues at extra cover and she then bowled Danielle Gibson for a duck attempting to cut.
Renuka reprises powerplay role
Just as she had in the first two matches, Renuka struck early, removing both England openers inside the first few overs. On this occasion, with Danni Wyatt – who scored 75 in the opening match – making way for Maia Bouchier in this dead rubber, Renuka struck with the third ball of the match, a slightly fuller one that nipped back a little and pierced Bouchier’s tentative prod, bowling her through the gate.
Renuka also accounted for an out-of-sorts Sophia Dunkley for the third time in as many matches, throwing her hands at a ball outside off-stump which was there to be hit but she just couldn’t clear Patil at backward point. Dunkley’s score of 11 was her highest of the series and came amid a lean stretch dating back to the Ashes in the middle of this year, where she managed just one half-century – in the first T20I – and has scored just one since – at the WBBL last month. Unlike in the opening two games, however, Renuka’s good work received ample support in the form of Patil and Ishaque.
Mandhana, Rodrigues step up
Scores of 159 for 6 in pursuit of 198, where Shafali lacked support from her team-mates, and 80 all-out raised worrying questions over India’s batting ahead of this match. But Mandhana and Rodrigues stepped up when required. Mandhana’s run-a-ball 48 included two glorious sixes over deep midwicket and long-off, and five fours while Rodrigues was particularly effective on the sweep on the way to her 29 off 33.
Mandhana fell agonisingly short of her half-century when she drove tamely to Dunkley off Ecclestone. That was after off-spinner Charlie Dean had broken their stand with a full ball that rapped Rodrigues on the back thigh as she knelt to sweep, her call for DRS unable to save her as ball-tracking showed the ball on target. But the India duo had set their side up and gone some way to answering those batting questions while Amanjot’s cameo at the end gave her side more encouragement.
England, meanwhile, missed Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was rested from the match but still named Player of the Series for her 93 runs and two wickets, her 77 in a 138-run stand with Wyatt during the opening game the standout performance. Sarah Glenn, who is not part of England’s squad for the Test starting on Thursday, missed the match with a thumb fracture picked up in the second T20I.
