India Women created history at Manchester with an emphatic 6-wicket win 3 overs to spare to seal the series 3-1 with a game to spare. While it was joy and jubilation for the Women in Blue, it was heartbreak for the hosts England Women. England must be wondering where they went wrong. There were multiple aspects where things did not go their way and we will pick out three reasons for their heart wrenching loss in Manchester thereby losing the series as well.
Lack of batting partnerships hurt England
After winning the toss and deciding to bat first, England Women would have hoped to get off to a solid start much like they did in the last game at the Oval where the openers had put up 137 for the first wicket in 15.2 overs. But that was not to be in this game. They lost wickets at regular intervals and did not have any partnership to speak about. They lost 2 wickets in the powerplay and after 10 overs as well they were only 2 wickets down.
But the floodgates opened post the Drinks Break as the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 101/7 in 17 overs from 68/2 in 10 overs. India Women tightened the screws really well and did not allow the English to break free. Sophie Ecclestone and Isabella Wong towards the end took the score to 126 in 20 overs but that was never going to be enough. The duo of Ecclestone and Wong showed that one can bat out there if they apply themselves.
Looking ahead to the big picture i.e. T20 World Cup next year in England, the hosts need to work on these areas to get better and compete for the title. They will have Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight back by then but the others need to pull up their socks if they wish to challenge the mighty Australians on the world stage.
Batting against spinners/slow bowlers exposes England’s vulnerability.Â
The pitch at Manchester was on the slower side which aided the spinners. This played into India’s hands as the Women in Blue had a plethora of spinners and only one proper pace bowler and one all rounder who bowls pace. With the ball gripping and holding onto the surface, the Indian bowlers came to the party. Danielle Wyatt-Hodge fell to spin once again this time to Charani. 5 of the 7 dismissals in England’s innings was to spinners. One was a run out and one went to Amanjot Kaur.
England batters failed to read the spinners and got themselves out trying to play big shots as the Indians bowled with great discipline and tightened the noose. Leading the charge for India was Radha Yadav who picked up 2/15 in 4 overs. Giving her good company was her spin partner Nallapureddy Charani who finished with 2/30 in 4 overs. The experienced Deepti Sharma also got a wicket and finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. On spinning pitches or slow surfaces, England are finding it tough.
Going forward, England should attempt to play in surfaces that are good for batting and maybe aiding the seamers as India lacks a quality seamer in their squad. They have lost the series but can fix this issue playing on better surfaces especially in the ODIS as India’s lack of seamers can be exposed in the 50-over format. For the time being, England have a lot to ponder about and get back to the drawing board as a quality side like India outplayed them in practically all the games so far.
No powerplay wickets while defending 126 cost England the game
The England batters underperformed in Manchester and it was upto the bowlers to keep England in the game. The only way they could have been in the game was wickets in the powerplay and putting India under pressure. But they failed to do that as India Women got off to a positive start.
The duo of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana were off the blocks and put on a 50-run stand for the first wicket. India got to 50 in 5 overs and 53 in the powerplay. The opening duo was eventually separated at the end of the 7th over with Verma falling to Dean for 31 off 19 balls. But the damage was done as the required rate was well under control after that.
Both Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer had an off day with ball in hand and that hurt England bad. Yes, they did get wickets in the middle overs, but it was a case of too little too late for the hosts. This is not a major concern for England as their bowling has done largely well, but going forward if they are defending a low score which is below par, they need to have the incisiveness to break partnerships and put pressure on the chasing side. The bowling has shown some improvements in the last 2 games.
What Lies Ahead
England will want to bounce back and end the 5-match T20I series on a high by winning the final game. The stage is set at Edgbaston on 12th July i.e. Saturday. Both the teams may test their bench strength in this one as this is a dead rubber as far as series is concerned. But one feels both won’t give an inch in this game either.
Will it be 4-1 or will it be 3-2? Only time will tell when action gets underway at Edgbaston on Saturday, the 12th of July. It should be another good game of cricket.
Also Read: ENG-W vs IND-W: 3 Reasons For India’s Surprising & Narrow Defeat in 3rd T20I