Capsey, Knight star in England's series-clinching win

Alice Capsey and Heather Knight starred in England's series-clinching win over India in the final T20I in Taunton on Tuesday (June 2). The two batters shared a massive century stand that helped England recover from a precarious position in the run chase to eventually hunt down a target of 181.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge got castled as early as in the second over and Sophia Dunkley picked out Jemimah Rodrigues in the deep as England lost their openers in the first three overs. Kranti Gaud also managed to get rid of Amy Jones in the final over of the Powerplay but Capsey made her intentions clear right at the start by finishing that over with 6, 4, 4. That was a sign of things to come as she continued to feast on the Indian bowling attack by fetching boundaries at will to race to 37 off just 15 despite those early setbacks.

At the other end, Knight also grew in confidence and picked up boundaries against the Indian spinners. That boundary-spree post the Powerplay turned the game on its head as England now took control at the halfway mark. Capsey then brought up her half-century off just 26 deliveries whereas Knight inched closer to hers with two more boundaries of Nandni Sharma.

Once Knight reached her landmark, Capsey appeared to be in a hurry to finish things off as she took on Shree Charani to smash a four and follow that up with successive sixes that left her side needing just 28 from the final five overs. Even though Capsey finally departed for 82, victory was never in doubt for England as Knight put India out of their misery with a boundary in the penultimate over to wrap up the win.

Earlier in the evening, India managed to post 180 on the board despite losing their openers cheaply like England did in the chase. Shafali Verma mistimed one to depart for 11 and Smriti Mandhana was trapped plumb in front by Charlie Dean. Yastika Bhatia, who looked in fine nick already in the series, ensured India still made the best use of the Powerplay. She found the fence seven times to make sure India raced to 57 in the Powerplay but her blitz was cut short immediately via a run out.

Just when it appeared like Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur would rebuild the innings, England struck again. Lauren Bell, returning to the attack, executed an excellent slower delivery that dipped in to crash into Rodrigues's stumps. England then managed to squeeze in a few tight overs before Harmanpreet found her rhythm again. The Indian skipper managed to get her fifty but India would have certainly wanted more than the 48 they managed in the final five overs, which eventually cost them the game.

Brief scores: India Women 180/5 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 56*, Yastika Bhatia 32; Lauren Bell 2-36) lost to England Women 184/4 in 18.3 overs (Alice Capsey 82, Heather Knight 70*; Arundhati Reddy 2-31) by 6 wickets