Birmingham: With the series already in bag, a confident India will look to further assert their dominance and end the five-match women’s T20I rubber on a high when they face England in the inconsequential fifth and final game here on Saturday.
While the bat and ball did the talking in the initial games, it was India’s electric fielding that stood out in the fourth T20I, helping them seal a historic maiden series win over England in the shortest format.
Arundhati Reddy’s three sharp catches in the deep and Radha Yadav’s brilliance in the field helped India restrict England to 126 for 7, setting up a six-wicket win and a decisive 3-1 lead.
The victory not only marked India’s first T20I series triumph over England but also provided a morale-boosting edge ahead of the upcoming three-match ODI series.
A win in the final game would give Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. a commanding 4-1 result and dent England’s confidence going forward.
The Indian men’s team had produced a memorable victory at Edgbaston last week in the second Test, and the women’s side will be keen to keep the winning momentum going at the same venue.
India’s bowling attack, built around four spinners and two seamers, has paid rich dividends as the England batters have visibly struggled against spin, losing 22 wickets to spinners so far in the series.
While Radha Yadav emerged as the Player of the Match for her two wickets and fielding exploits, it is young N Shree Charani who emerged as the leading wicket-taker after making her T20I debut at the start of this series.
With the most successful spinner in women’s T20Is Deepti Sharma anchoring the attack, India’s spin dominance has been hard to counter.
In the batting department, Smriti Mandhana has been the top scorer, while Shafali Verma’s aggressive approach has given India rapid starts.
Her 19-ball 31 in the fourth T20I set the tone for the chase and helped her earn a recall to the ODI squad for India A’s tour of Australia.
Shafali, however, will be eager to convert her starts into more substantial contributions.
Jemimah Rodrigues, with 107 runs in the series, has been a steady presence in the middle order and hit the winning runs in the previous match. Harmanpreet, despite a 48-run stand with Rodrigues, looked short of her best and will aim to fine-tune her game before the ODI leg.
For England, the absence of skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, ruled out with a left groin injury after the second T20I, has hurt their balance.
Their batting has lacked direction, with Sophia Dunkley the only batter showing any consistency.
Openers Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge have failed to provide solid starts, and the middle-order has not stepped up either. A total of 126 was never going to trouble India’s powerful batting unit.
In the bowling department, pacer Lauren Bell has stood out with six wickets, but apart from her, no other bowler has been able to stop the Indian batting line-up, with the next best being Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Filer with just three wickets each.
