Dramatic England collapse helps India keep series alive

A late collapse despite Tammy Beaumont's brisk fifty saw England slip dramatically in a chase of 149 to fall eight short as India managed to keep the multi-format series alive.

Inserted in, India had themselves lost wickets at regular intervals to throw away the advantage the quick knocks of Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur gave them, to finish with about 20 runs short. And the in-form Beaumont ensured England were cruising despite a couple of early wickets.

Turned out, Beaumont was the glue that held together the English chase which spiralled rather comically as India clawed their way back from 106 for 2 through some tight bowling from the spinners, some inspired fielding and a dash of luck.

Verma vs Brunt

After falling for a duck to her nemesis in game 1, this bout within the bigger battle belonged wholly and solely to the Indian opener who slammed the veteran for five consecutive boundaries after being passed on the strike by her partner off the first ball. With meticulous timing, Verma duly dispatched the short balls she'd been expecting to the midwicket ropes, hit one over the bowler's head and even deftly carved one past point to help India steal 21 off the over and add to a visibly displeased Brunt's frustration. Before that, Verma welcomed Sophie Ecclestone into the attack with a four and six off slog-sweeps to unsettle the spinner early on. If it wasn't for a maiden sixth over, from Ecclestone, India could have had a lot more than their 49/0 in the powerplay

Promotion for Harmanpreet Kaur

Even with all the chatter around her lack of form across formats, the Indian captain handed herself a promotion at one drop. But with Verma also falling in quick succession, Harmanpreet decided to take matters into her own hands. She skipped down the track to Mady Villiers for a six over deep midwicket that came as a release shot, and then took on Sarah Glenn for 4, 4 and 6 in the space of four deliveries across the leggies two overs to make up for the dots early in her knock. Glenn did get her revenge soon after, thanks to a stunning dive from Brunt at long-off, but the 31-run knock from Harmanpreet provided India the much-needed impetus to counter the stall they tend to hit once their designated attackers at the top of the order fall. Her untimely wicket though gave England an opening, which the home team capitalised on to tighten the screws and keep India to just 148 at a time when 170 looked a very real possibility.

England in early trouble

England's chase didn't get off on the perfect note as they lost two wickets in as many overs in the powerplay. Danni Wyatt miscued a full and wide delivery from Arundhati Reddy straight to the Indian skipper at mid-off, failing to generate enough power on the shot to clear the infield. Nat Sciver paid the price for greed and a risky single she called for off a wide that Richa Ghosh failed to grab. The Indian wicketkeeper fumbled but made up for it massively as she nailed the direct hit, even though tumbling, to catch the incoming batter just short of her crease.

The game changer

Despite the early setbacks, it was Tammy Beaumont who kept England on course as she feasted on some loose bowling and absolute freebies to race to a 59 off 50. However, it was Deepti Sharma's second over -14th of England's chase - that reignited India's hopes, and how!

Eager to take on the spinner, Beaumont went with a premeditated reverse sweep but missed the line completely and was hit low on the pad. An on-field not out call saved her on review, but she eventually met her end two balls later - dancing down the track this time to make up for the dots and getting beaten by the spin. With the on-field call in India's favour this time, even a desperate review couldn't rescue her. A well-set Heather Knight's unfortunate run out followed off the very next delivery. Deepti, collecting the ball in her follow-through, tangled with Knight, who was way out of her crease. The ball though snuck through the human mangle, ricocheted off the bowler's boot and knocked the bails off with Knight taking her own time to gather what the celebrations around her were all about. Deepti was involved in another run out in her following over - though this time it was borne out of a risky second run Sophia Dunkley called and paid the price for.

Poonam Yadav seals the deal

With a clear plan to take the pace off the ball at death, India probably erred by giving the ball to a part-timer Harleen right after, who was welcomed into the attack with a six. But the visitors learnt their lesson quick and brought on their most experienced campaigner. Oppositions may be beginning to find a way past her loopy deliveries and googlies, but Poonam showed exactly why she's India's most decorated bowler in the format. With the asking rate still around a very manageable 7 an over, the leggie resorted to a slow, short and wide delivery that Amy Jones had to pull with all her strength. The English keeper could however only get it as far as Sneh Rana at square leg. Poonam then wrapped up her spell with another key wicket of Brunt in the penultimate over, robbing all of England's hopes of a late recovery.

Brief scores: India 148/4 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 48, Harmanpreet Kaur 31; Nat Sciver 1-20) beat England 140/8 in 20 overs (Tammy Beaumont 59, Heather Knight 30; Poonam Yadav 2-17, Deepti Sharma 1-17) by 8 runs