Spinners set up historic series win for India
Visitors comfortably chase down 127 for unassailable 3-1 lead and first T20I series victory on English soil
Visitors comfortably chase down 127 for unassailable 3-1 lead and first T20I series victory on English soil
Scorer: Harshith Gowda | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar
9:46pm That will be all from us for tonight. We hope you enjoyed our coverage just as much as we loved bringing it to you. Until next time, from Shashwat, Harshith and the entire team, it is goodbye!
Radha Yadav, Player of the Match: From the start, we were fully pumped up and looking forward to this game. It was really important for us. We are definitely working really hard on each and every delivery - on spinning the ball, yorkers, everything, and it is helping us. (On assessing the pitch) It was easy for us today, because it was familiar for our bowling. We did our job as a whole unit and I am happy for all of us. All the bowlers did really well and looking forward to the next game. This (fielding) is the one part we were trying to get better at. We are actually putting in a lot of efforts to get better each day and the results are showing.
Harmanpreet Kaur, India captain: We are really grateful that we were able to do that (win the series). Really proud of the team, with the way we played. We really needed that momentum and happy with the way they all contributed. We had very good camps (before coming here) and we worked on all of our plans and accordingly, we have executed here. Everyone knew their role and that is how we played. We have now played three seasons of the WPL and every season has been special - we have gotten a lot of experience. We got a lot of positivity and a good sign that we are able to execute in international cricket as well. (On wanting to make it 4-1) We need to keep doing the right things again and again and hopefully we can do that.
Tammy Beaumont, England captain: Contrasting two games in charge. It was always going to be tough defending that score. Wanted 150 to have a chance on a wicket that was offering (something) to the spinners (and pace bowlers). (On what went wrong with the bat) Soft dismissals (myself included), not good enough at this level. They bowled really well, we could not adapt quickly enough, and kept losing wickets. It (the pitch in Manchester) has always got potential to offer something to the slower bowlers. We thought it would offer quicker bounce, someone like Filer would get bounce. But credit to India, they adapted quickly and stuck to their guns. (On the approach to the final match) We want to put on a show for the home fans. With a bit of pressure off, we want to go out and show what we can do. We have to all put our hands up and try and make it 3-2.
9:31pm There was a brief patch when India were seemingly huffing and puffing, and the required run-rate was getting closer to a run-a-ball. But before that and after that, India were clinical (barring the odd moment of indecision). Shafali and Mandhana set up the run-chase, with Shafali taking England apart in the powerplay and getting India well ahead of the contest. Mandhana was a little more subdued, but her 31-ball 32 also laid the foundation for the visitors. Rodrigues stayed till the end to ensure there were no further hiccups, with Harmanpreet, although not at her fluent best, also doing her bit through the middle.
England will look back at this game and feel they never really put India under enough pressure. They did not have many runs on the board, and then leaked too many in the opening few overs. There was a tight period that followed but as it turned out, that only delayed the inevitable. They have now lost this T20I series, and given all the pre-series optimism, that will be a tough pill to swallow, despite the injuries. Stick around for the post-match presentation.
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