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India’s T20I series win good build-up to 2026 World Cup
India clinched their first T20I series win in England, despite a thrilling final-match loss, showcasing strong bowling and fielding ahead of the World Cup.
New Delhi: Improved bowling and fielding performances have highlighted the Indian women’s first T20I series win on English soil. Considering that India will play the T20 World Cup in the country in a year’s time, India upstaging England at home hints at the foundation that the visitors are already laying for the marquee event.
“We had (the T20 World Cup) in our mind when we started our preparation for this series. All of us including selectors were on the same page, we picked our squad accordingly and we have started on a good note. The preparation has already started,” India coach Amol Muzumdar said in his press conference following the fifth and final match of the series in Birmingham.
“We had a game plan in mind before we set off from India and we had a good camp and focused quite a bit on our bowling and fielding. Batting has been our strength for a long time. The departments we wanted to focus was our bowling and fielding and it has shown in the series.”
It wasn’t quite the perfect ending India might have hoped for on Saturday night but they walked away with a trophy and a lot of belief. It was a thrilling final-over defeat at Edgbaston in the final game where England chased down 168 off the very last ball, India sealing a 3-2 series win.
There were many star performers for India. Seamer Arundhati Reddy’s composure under pressure, left-arm spinner Radha Yadav’s game-changing spells and catches, India’s solid batting and new left-arm spinner N Shree Charani’s record 10 wickets – the most by an Indian woman in a debut T20I series – were some of the standout performances.
England’s five-wicket win in the final match and their highest successful T20I chase at home came on the back of a blistering 101-run opening stand between Sophia Dunkley (46) and Danni Wyatt-Hodge (56). The hosts looked on course to overhaul the target, having plundered 57 in the Powerplay and dominated until the halfway mark.
But Indian bowlers struck yet again. Radha Yadav’s dismissal of Dunkley in the 11th over saw cracks appears in the chase. Off-spinner Deepti Sharma followed it up with a double strike, removing Wyatt-Hodge and Maia Bouchier (16), and suddenly the equation became tighter. Skipper Tammy Beaumont (30) seemed to have things under control with a composed 30 but Arundhati Reddy (2/47) produced a high-drama final over to push the contest to the last ball.
With England needing just six runs, Reddy dismissed Beaumont and Amy Jones (10) in her first three deliveries while conceding just one run. With five required off three, Radha Yadav went airborne, completing a sensational diving catch that nearly fetched India victory. But Sophie Ecclestone (4) took three runs off the next ball, and two more singles in the company of Paige Scholfield (2) in a tense final sequence took England over the line.
Earlier, Shafali Verma lit up the innings with a blistering 75 off 41 balls, hitting 13 fours and a six. Her flair once again sent out a reminder that she’s capable of pulling off things that very few in the game can as the ODI World Cup at home in September-October approaches.
“It just shows that we have a lot of depth. (Opener) Pratika Rawal was drafted in December and she has left a big mark in the initial stage of her career. Shafali has been a terrific player, no doubt about it. She will be part of the core group, but at the moment it is Pratika (for ODIs). It’s a good selection headache to have as a coaching staff. The depth is getting stronger,” said Muzumdar.
Despite losing Smriti Mandhana (8) and Jemimah Rodrigues (1) early, Shafali powered India to 94/3 at the halfway stage. However, England’s spinners were able to put the brakes on the innings with Charlotte Dean leading the way with 3/23. Ecclestone took two wickets as well.
Brief scores: India 167/7 (S Verma 75, S Ecclestone 2/28, C Dean 3/23); England 168/5 in 20 overs (S Dunkley 46, D Wyatt-Hodge 56, Deepti 2/31, Arundhati 2/47). England won by 5 wickets
