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Mandhana scores half-ton as India women thrash England

England women lurched from 16/3 to 54/5 before 17-year-old left-hander Freya Kemp guided them to a face-saving score with an unbeaten 51…reports Asian Lite News

Following their nine-wicket defeat against England women in the opening T20 International, India hit back with an equally impressive comeback win as vice-captain Smriti Mandhana smashed an unbeaten half century to help the visitors level the series with an eight-wicket victory at the Country Ground in Derby late on Tuesday.

The 53-ball 79 from Mandhana was enough for India to chase down a competitive 142/6 from England for the loss of just two wickets and with 20 balls to spare.

The deciding third T20I will be played at Bristol on Thursday, following which the focus will shift to the One-day International series beginning at Hove on September 18.

On a day when Freya Kemp becomes the youngest woman to make a T20I half-century for England, the total proved too less for India who batted with far more authority in the chase, with Shafali Verma (20) and Mandhana giving India a solid start of 55 runs.

By the time the young opener departed in the sixth over, Verma had laid a solid foundation from where Mandhana just took off, hitting 13 boundaries and scoring at a strike rate of nearly 150.

With none of the damp and soggy English conditions to trouble India after their travails in their opening game, which they lost by nine wickets, India went about their task in a cool manner at Derby’s Incora County Ground.

England women lurched from 16/3 to 54/5 before 17-year-old left-hander Freya Kemp guided them to a face-saving score with an unbeaten 51.

Mandhana then put on an opening partnership of 55 with Verma, who departed following a sharp return catch to Sophie Ecclestone. However, an unbroken stand of 69 with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (29 not out) ensured victory for the tourists.

In between, Dayalan Hemalatha lost her wicket to Freya Davies. Mandhana brought up the winning runs with a boundary off off Davies.

Brief scores: England 142 for 6 in 20 overs (Freya Kemp 51 not out; Sneh Rana 3/24) lost to India 146 for 2 in 16.4 overs (Smriti Mandhana 79 not out) by eight wickets.

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ICC women ODI rankings: Mandhana rises to 5th, captain maintains 2nd spot

Perry’s teammate Beth Mooney too climbed the charts for batters, rising five places to occupy the third spot behind Mithali Raj after a Player-of-the-Match-winning 73 in the first ODI of the series…reports Asian Lite News

India’s top-order batter Smriti Mandhana has risen two places, to fifth, while captain Mithali Raj continues to hold on to her second position in the latest Women’s ODI Player Rankings for Batters released on Tuesday.

Mandhana, on 710 points, has displaced South Africa’s Lizelle Lee (702) and England’s Tammy Beaumont (696) in the ranking, which is led by Australia’s Alyssa Healy (742 points).

Meanwhile, dominant performances in the first two ODIs of the Women’s Ashes have seen several Australian players climb the charts in ODI Player Rankings. Having dropped to the second spot after the series against India in September 2021, Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry is back at the top of the Women’s ODI Player Rankings for All-rounders with 407 points. India’s Deepti Sharma is fourth with 299 points.

Perry was the ‘Player of the Match’ in the second ODI, first returning figures of 3/12 to reduce England to 129 all out, before scoring a 40 off 64 balls to take Australia close to victory. Perry also made huge gains in the bowlers’ rankings, rising seven spots to break into the top-10 and occupying the No.9 spot.

There hasn’t been much for England to cheer about in the ODI leg of the Ashes but Katherine Brunt’s all-round brilliance in the first ODI, where she finished with 3/12 and scored 32 not out, sees her gain three spots to No.5 in the all-rounders’ rankings. Brunt also jumped a spot to No.6 in the bowlers’ rankings.

Despite England ending up on the losing side in the first two ODIs, Sophie Ecclestone bowled economically and jumped to third with a career-best 717 rating points in the ODI Player Rankings for Bowlers, which has India’s Jhulan Goswami in second spot.

Perry’s teammate Beth Mooney too climbed the charts for batters, rising five places to occupy the third spot behind Mithali Raj after a Player-of-the-Match-winning 73 in the first ODI of the series.

Tahlia McGrath played a crucial role in Australia sealing the ODI series in the first two ODI, with 48 runs and five wickets. Her strong showing reflected across all three departments in the rankings, where she rose six spots to No.41 for batters, a massive 32 spots to No.52 to bowlers and 20 spots to No. 31 for all-rounders.

The recently-concluded ODI series between South Africa and West Indies also caused some movement in the latest ICC Rankings. West Indies, who were 1-0 down after the first two ODIs, won the final two matches to take the series 2-1.

Opener Laura Wolvaardt broke into the top 10 for batters with a century in the third ODI and a vital 23 that set up South Africa’s win in the decider. She rose four places to No. 9.

Shabnim Ismail, the Player of the Match in the decider for figures of 4/44, climbed to No.5 in the Bowlers’ Rankings while Ayabonga Khaka rose a place to No.7.

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