India Women vs England Women 2nd T20I Full Commentary
Result · May 30 2026, Sat - 07:00 PM (IST)
2nd T20I, - Bristol County Ground
IND-W 142/9 (20.0)
ENG-W 168/5 (20.0)
England Women beat India Women by 26 runs
CRR:7.10
Player Of The Match
Welcome back for India's reply. Charlie Dean leads her side out onto the park. It will be the left-hand, right-hand combination of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma to open the innings for India. Lauren Bell will kick things off with the new ball. Bell dismissed both Indian openers in the first over down in Chelmsford. Mandhana will take strike. Here we go...
... THE RUN CHASE ...
England have all the momentum - It was a stop-start innings for the hosts as a few of their batters got in, but couldn't kick on. Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones and even Alice Capsey all got starts but nothing substantial to show for it. It was Freya Kemp who made all the difference with a blistering unbeaten 39 off just 13 balls, and it is certainly game on heading into the chase. With 169 needed for the win, the Powerplay will be crucial for both sides. If the Indian openers manage to get off to a good start, this could turn into a humdinger. If England Women pick up early wickets, they will have the chance to dictate terms. Stay tuned, as the exciting run chase is up next.
Indian spinners dominate the first half - India Women managed to pick up wickets at regular intervals right throughout the first innings, but the final couple of overs have undone all the good work. Sree Charani ruled the roost as she picked up three wickets, and Shreyanka Patil also bowled really well, but Deepti Sharma seemed a bit off colour. Nandni Sharma and Arundhati Reddy, the two pacers did well up until the death and those 24 runs in the final over could turn out to be decisive.
England finish with a flourish - What hitting from Freya Kemp and right at the death, the hosts have stolen all the momentum away from India. For 18 overs, India Women were right on top of proceedings, but they will now have to bat pretty well to gun down this target of 169 runs.
SIX! A timely cameo of 39 off 13 balls has put England Women in a really good position on a track that is not that easy to bat on. England Women post 168 for 5 after 20 overs. Back of a length, on middle and off, Freya Kemp was waiting for this on her back foot and she thumps this over the fence towards the long on region for a massive biggie.
Sloppy from Shafali Verma. Good length, around off, Freya Kemp hits this straight towards Shafali at long off, but a misfield yet again from the Indian opening batter allows Kemp to come back for the second.
FOUR! Yet another boundary from the bat of Freya Kemp. Low full toss, around off, Kemp stays low and hits this to the left of the long off fielder for four more runs.
FOUR! This is an amazing cameo from Freya and this could prove to be vital at the end. Another one in the slot, on middle and leg, Freya Kemp clears her front foot and plants it away from the line of the ball. Kemp smashes this in the gap between deep mid-wicket and long on for a boundary.
Reddy bowls this full and around off, Freya Kemp lofts this over the covers region for a couple of runs.
SIX! Hammered away for a biggie. Right in the slot, around middle and leg, Freya Kemp stays leg side of the ball and hits this with the wind towards the long on region for a massive biggie.
FOUR! Poor from Sree Charani in the outfield and the ball goes underneath her for four. Full and on middle and off, Danielle Gibson collapses her back knee and sweeps this towards the deep square leg fielder. The ball was bound to spin away from the fielder, but Sree failed to read the spin, and it went past her for a boundary.
Sharma goes full and bowls it in the line of the stumps, Freya Kemp hits this to long on for a single.
FOUR! Full and wide outside off, Freya Kemp throws her bat at it, gets it toe-poked through the gap between the keeper and the fielder at short third for a boundary.
Hard length, around the pads, Danielle Gibson tucks this through the leg side for a single.
Good length, wide of off, Danielle Gibson slashes at it and gets beaten on the outside edge.
FOUR! Short and wide of off, Danielle Gibson stays onto her back foot and cuts this square on off for a boundary. A good start to the penultimate over for England Women.
Wide! Dug in short by Nandni Sharma but it is too high, over middle. Danielle Gibson lets it go as the ball sails over her head.
NOT OUT! Full and going across the batter around the stump. Danielle Gibson goes a long way across and looks for the sweep but misses, and the ball deflects off her front pad towards fine leg for a leg bye. A loud appeal from the visiting side, but the umpire turns it down. Harmanpreet Kaur opts for DRS, but the Ball Tracking shows that the ball would have missed the off stump.
Tossed up, on off, Danielle Gibson sweeps this towards Shafali Verma at deep square leg, where a fumble allows the second.
Onto Taunton - India landed the first punch and left England with plenty of questions to answer, but the hosts responded impressively to force a decider in the series. The third and final T20I will take place on Tuesday, June 2, in Taunton. It will be an evening fixture, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 11 pm IST (5.30 pm GMT). We look forward to having your company then. Cheers!
The skipper of England - Charlie Dean says that it feels good to put a good score on the board and then to defend it later. Adds that Freya was the difference between the two sides in this game, and for her to go out and play like that feels great as a skipper, and the way she bowled was brilliant as well. Dean says that Kemp's role in the team will mainly hinge on the game situation, as she has quality in both ball striking and strike rotation. She closes by saying that India is a really strong team and beating them will always make a side feel good.
The captain of India - Harmanpreet Kaur says that the way Kemp batted, she took the game away from them. Adds that they gave away 10-15 runs extra, and it was about building partnerships for them, which didn't quite happen. Further mentions that they played too many dot balls in between. On retiring out Yastika Bhatia, she says that the way Jemi batted in the last game, they had to take the risk and ends by saying that it just didn't come off.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Freya Kemp is given the award for her stunning cameo of 39* off just 13 balls and 2/15 with the ball from her 2 overs. Kemp says that the first game did not go the way they wanted to, but they are happy to win this one. Adds that she paced the innings nicely and the skipper told her that the team needs fireworks at the end, and she feels happy to have contributed to the team. Kemps credits the entire batting unit for batting well and setting a platform for the finishers to launch. Further says that it felt nice to be back bowling, and picking a couple of wickets felt extremely good.
Time for the presentation ceremony...
A late flourish saved the hosts - Earlier, England opted to put runs on the board on a wicket that was on the slower side, while the outfield was not the quickest either. Every time the hosts managed to build a partnership and looked set to find another gear, India pulled them back. It was the young spin duo of Sree Charani and Shreyanka Patil who kept the scoring in check for the tourists through the middle overs. England, however, found a saviour in Freya Kemp, whose late assault provided the finishing kick they desperately needed. With 24 runs coming off the final over, the home side surged to a competitive 168.
No way through - In pursuit of 169, Shafali Verma did not last long, but during her brief stay, she provided India with a brisk start. Smriti Mandhana carried that momentum forward and, for as long as she was at the crease, the tourists had the required rate under control. However, once Mandhana fell, England began to apply the squeeze and never allowed the visitors to break free. Yastika Bhatia's innings was anything but fluent, and India eventually made the tactical call to retire her out. Harmanpreet Kaur was also not her usual self, and none of the batters who followed were able to inject life into the chase as England's bowlers put the game beyond India's reach. Captain Charlie Dean led from the front with the ball, returning figures of 2/20 from her 4 overs.
England make it 1-1 - Rescued by a late burst from Freya Kemp with the bat, England backed it up with an impressive defensive effort with the ball through the middle overs and completely choked India's chase. India, meanwhile, were left to rue the manner in which they finished the first innings. The 39 runs conceded off the final two overs undid much of the excellent work they had produced up until the 18th over. With the bat, the visitors fell away rather tamely after a promising start.
That's it, England Women get the job done as they win by 26 runs, and the series is levelled at 1-1. Flatter one angled into middle and leg, Arundhati Reddy rocks back and punches it down to wide long on for a single.
Nandni Sharma is the last batter for India, but it will be Arundhati Reddy on strike.
OUT! CHARANI IS RUN OUT! Fullish length, drifted into the pads. Arundhati Reddy swipes across the line and hits it to the right of deep mid-wicket. The batters pick up a single and go for the second. Alice Capsey picks the ball cleanly and fires in a throw at the bowler's end. Sophie Ecclestone whips off the bails and Sree Charani isn't even in the frame.
Full and straight, tucked away through mid-wicket for one.
Sree Charani is in at number 10.
OUT! TIMBER! Full and fast, darted in on leg stump. Shreyanka Patil walks across and gets inside the line to play a cheeky lap, but is well beaten and the ball goes on to smash into the leg pole. Sophie Ecclestone gets her first wicket of the game and India are now 139/8.
Dragged length, angled into the batter, Reddy hits it down to long on for a run.
No timing on it. Tossed up, on off. Patil sits down to slog but get a top edge over the vacant mid-wicket region and collects a single.
Sophie Ecclestone to bowl the final over.
A slower one to end the over. Full and outside off, Patil gets a long way across to the off side and shovels it through backward square leg for a single.
FOUR! Cheeky but effective. Full and straight, Shreyanka Patil brings out the reverse sweep and gets it fine of the fielder at short third for a boundary.
Shreyanka Patil is the new batter.