After suffering a nine-wicket defeat to England women in their opening T20I match, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana smashed an unbeaten half century to help India level the series with an eight-wicket victory at the Country Ground in Derby.
Mandhana’s 53-ball knock of 79 helped India chase down a competitive 142/6, losing just two wickets and with 20 balls to spare.
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The T20I decider will be played at Bristol, after which the One-day International series will commence at Hove on September 18.
Freya Kemp became the youngest woman to score a T20I half-century for England, but their total was not threatening enough as Shafali Verma (20) and Mandhana gave India a solid start of 55 runs.
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Verma departed in the sixth over, but Mandhana took over, hitting 13 boundaries and scoring at a strike rate of nearly 150.
The English conditions had troubled in their opening game which they lost by nine wickets, but this time around, they played in a composed manner at Derby’s Incora County Ground.
England eves slumped from 16/3 to 54/5 before 17-year-old Freya Kemp stabilised the innings to take them to a respectable enough total.
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Mandhana and Verma put on an opening partnership of 55, before the latter departed after 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 was dismissed by Freya Davies. Mandhana hit the winning runs, smashing a boundary off Davies.
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