Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana play starring roles as India finish T20I series on a high

The Indian women posted a resonating display at Wankhede in the final T20I, saving the blushes of a whitewash as they braved a tricky Mumbai surface to finish the T20I series 2-1 with a new hero emerging from the ashes of their series defeat.

Winning the toss, England opted to bat first but were in for an early jolt as Renuka Singh’s inswinger razed through Maia Bouchier’s defences, removing her for a golden duck. Singh struck again in quick succession to get the better of Sophia Dunkley for a paltry 11.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors as Saika Ishaque removed Alice Capsey (7), before England skipper Heather Knight provided some resistance to fend off the Indian infringements for a while.

Despite scoring a well-orchestrated 25, Amy Jones was next in the line of departures as Saika Ishaque struck for the second time. Soon enough, Danielle Gibson returned for the second golden duck of the England innings as Ishaque found herself on a hat-trick, although she could not achieve the feat. 

Next up in the line of the tormentors of the England batting represent was another RCB represent, Shreyanka Patil, who was not just with frugal with the ball but bagged an important three-fer featuring the scalps of Bess Heath (1), Freya Kemp (0) and Sophie Ecclestone (2) to send England spiralling out of control.

Knight posted the best knock for England, smashing 52 from 42 balls eventually before falling to Amanjot Kaur. Shreyanka Patil and Saika Ishaque led the show for India, with six wickets shared between them.

Chasing 127, the Indian women did have an early bother in the form of Shafali Verma’s wicket as she departed for six. However, two of the most experienced batters in the Indian side, Smriti Mandhana (48) and Jemimah Rodriguez (29) stabilized the innings and guided them to safety.

Despite a late scare, the RCB skipper hung around until quite long to seal the day for the Indians as they crafted a five-wicket victory over England, finishing with a win despite the visitors pocketing the 2-1 series win.