(Cricket news) In the 1st T20I, India women were comprehensively beaten by 9 wickets. The first match was a bit controversial as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur after the game said that the conditions were not okay to play in. Her comment looked like an excuse as India were completely outplayed in the match. The women in blue came back all guns blazing to register an 8 wicket win to level the series. England won the toss and elected to bat first as both sides went into the match unchanged. Radha Yadav who went off injured while fielding in the 1st match was fit to play. Deciding to bat first was a very bold choice as having a score in front while batting would've been ideal.
India managed to restrict England to 142/6 in 20 overs. Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh Thakur bowled 3 overs each in the powerplay and did a splendid job by taking a wicket each. Sneh Rana bowled in the middle overs and picked up 3 wickets. The all-rounder is continuing her incredible performances across formats and looks undroppable at the moment. Despite a misfield and a drop catch, India's fielding was so much better and it showed how much of an impact good fielding can have. Sneh Rana and keeper Richa Ghosh made some good efforts but Radha Yadav was a game changer. Yadav took an excellent running catch and inflicted a run out along with other good efforts. India's bowling was good but it is still a little concerning how they conceded 142 runs despite the fact that England were 61/5 after 10 overs.
Chasing 143, India were given a perfect start by Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. The latter was dismissed just before the powerplay but Mandhana kept on going. The India vice captain scored 79 off 53 balls hitting 13 boundaries in what was a well controlled innings. Harmanpreet Kaur provided good support with her 22 ball 29 aa India chased down the total with 20 balls to spare. Both the matches were one sided and now all eyes will be on the 3rd decider T20I. India will be taking a lot of confidence after this win but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
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