England Women defeated India Women by six wickets in their final warm-up T20I series match at Taunton, chasing down a target of 181 with nine balls remaining. The victory sealed a 2-1 series victory for the home side just before the start of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
India set a competitive target after scoring 180 for five in their 20 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur led the visitors with an unbeaten 56 off 40 deliveries, finding her rhythm right ahead of the major tournament. Yastika Bhatia contributed a rapid 32 to lay a solid foundation for the visitors at the top of the order.
England’s response faltered early, but a blistering 137-run partnership for the fourth wicket altered the momentum completely. Alice Capsey smashed 82 runs from just 43 balls, while captain Heather Knight made an unbeaten 70 off 42 deliveries. This tracking of the critical target showed up in the BBC’s match statistics, which confirmed the successful run chase was England’s highest since 2018. Knight entered the game under pressure from local media following a string of low scores during the English summer, making her unbeaten knock a statement of intent.
India’s bowling unit struggled to contain the boundaries during the middle overs as the game slipped away. Lauren Bell was the pick of the English bowlers, taking two wickets for 36 runs to keep India from exploding late in their innings. Speaking after the game, Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana explained that the side failed to build pressure with dot balls during the decisive partnership. England will play their first World Cup game against Sri Lanka on June 12, while India is scheduled to face Pakistan on June 14.