Dunkley looked to follow up from her 74 in the previous game with some early boundaries but wouldn\u2019t go too far, gliding a delivery to Radha Yadav at gully off Deepti Sharma after scoring just 22. Beaumont and Alice Capsey steadied the innings, eyeing a healthy 150+ total. Beaumont felt confident enough to go for a bigger hit, but it came back to bite her as her slog found Reddy at long-on off Yadav\u2019s bowling, ending the skipper\u2019s innings at just 20.<\/p>\n
England essentially found themselves in quicksand after that wicket, with boundaries not just slowing down but completely halting. However, that wasn\u2019t solely due to cautious batting\u2014India\u2019s phenomenal fielding near the ropes played a massive role. Yadav, in particular, stood out with some great diving stops. Charani picked up her fifth wicket of the day, trapping Capsey LBW, bringing her into double figures for wickets in England this summer.<\/p>\n
Amanjot Kaur had a brief injury scare courtesy of a Paige Scholfield shot to her finger, but she recovered quickly, dismissing Amy Jones in the very same over. Scholfield\u2019s attack ended abruptly, however, with another catch for Reddy at long-on and another wicket for Yadav.<\/p>\n
Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n Miscommunication sent Charlie Dean back next, as the off-spinner was left stranded and run out by a quick-thinking Charani. England\u2019s nine-over boundary drought finally ended in the 19th over, thanks to Lancashire local Sophie Ecclestone, who added a maximum along with Issy Wong in the final over to push England\u2019s score to a better\u2014but still disappointing\u2014126-7.<\/p>\n Second Innings<\/p>\n India started off looking to end the game before sundown. The attacking prowess of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana once again dictated the game with glorious power-hitting. Verma led the charge, channeling her inner Sehwag with some hammering shots. Before anyone knew it, the pair had brought up their 50-run stand right at the end of the powerplay.<\/p>\n Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n The itch to hit, however, would get the better of Verma, as her powerful pull\u2014which would have cleared most boundaries\u2014fell short on Manchester\u2019s larger field, finding Capsey\u2019s hands at deep square-leg off Dean. Mandhana soon after had a lapse in concentration herself, mistiming a swing against Ecclestone, as the ball floated to Lauren Filer at short third.<\/p>\n The two quick wickets saw India hit their own rut. Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues swung blindly and were beaten constantly, with the required run rate slowly creeping up. It was looking like a repeat of the chase at the Kia Oval. Fortunately, after a 40-ball boundary drought, Jemimah struck one down the ground for four.<\/p>\n Those runs were enough to reinvigorate India\u2019s confidence as they began marching toward the target with renewed intent. They did get a little overzealous, losing a couple more wickets\u2014first, Harmanpreet hit Ecclestone straight to mid-off for 26 off a fuller Wong delivery, and then Amanjot was run out rushing for a relatively unnecessary double. Jemimah, however, kept her cool in the chaos, finding clever gaps and scoring the winning runs with three overs in hand.<\/p>\n Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to dominate no matter what\u201d<\/p>\n The adage \u2018catches win matches\u2019 has never been more true than today for India, as their impressive fielding performance was the catalyst for this win\u2014and Player of the Match Radha Yadav couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d said Yadav when asked if the team had focused on fielding after the last game.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spoke about it in the last meeting that we have to cut down on twos and we actually did that today and we were really pumped up to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fielding really changed the momentum of the game, because both teams bowled well and it was the fielding that was great for us.\u201d<\/p>\n With this win, India finally secured their first-ever WT20I series win over England\u2014a historic achievement that Yadav admitted was on the team\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n \u201cThe day we came here (England), we spoke about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a total of eight matches and we will go absolutely hard, and we actually were going in that direction and really working hard. In our bowling, batting, fielding and even fitness wise, we are ticking all the boxes and this really means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n The intent in this Indian team has been terrifying to watch\u2014a far cry from what the team was like even a year ago. Yadav gave insight into what has taken her side to the next level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe belief,\u201d explained Yadav on what has changed.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know about the past, but this time, this team, this atmosphere, it\u2019s magical and we are actually (growing) into something. Like Amanjot said (after the Bristol win), this is a different team and we are going to dominate no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve played brilliantly\u201d<\/p>\n After the series defeat was confirmed, stand-in captain Tammy Beaumont couldn\u2019t help but compliment India for their performance.<\/p>\n \u201cCredit to India, they\u2019ve played brilliantly all series,\u201d said Beaumont.<\/p>\n \u201cThey really tested us and tonight we didn\u2019t put anywhere near a complete performance. We were probably 20 runs short with the bat, I reckon 150 would have given us a chance with our bowling lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250709_215234-1024x768.jpg\")
Radha Yadav speaking after the game<\/p>\n