Cricket
Danni Wyatt-Hodge (56 off 37) hits 21st T20I fifty when celebrating 300th international cap; Sophie Ecclestone hits winning run off final ball of chase of 168; watch first ODI between England and India, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12.30pm on Wednesday (first ball, 1pm)
Saturday 12 July 2025 22:23, UK
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England edged a final-ball thriller to end their T20 series against India on a high, pulling off a women’s record run-chase at Edgbaston of 168 to win the fifth international by five wickets.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge (56 off 37 balls) struck a 21st T20I fifty as she celebrated her 300th international cap, the opener – who was dropped on five – getting England off to a flier with Sophia Dunkley (46 off 30) as they shared in their second century stand as a partnership.
Both departed in the space of seven balls, while Tammy Beaumont – after tonking 30 off 20 – and Amy Jones (10) fell in the final over with just six required as suddenly things became tense, but Sophie Ecclestone (4no) struck the winning run off the last ball as India missed with a run out chance that would have taken things to a Super Over.
India 167-7 in 20 overs: Shafali Verma (75 off 41); Charlie Dean (3-23), Sophie Ecclestone (2-28), Linsey Smith (1-26)
England 168-5 from 20 overs: Danni Wyatt-Hodge (56 off 37), Sophia Dunkley (46 off 30), Tammy Beaumont (30 off 20); Deepti Sharma (2-31)
India had already wrapped up the T20 series, leading 3-1 coming into this final match in Birmingham, but England secured a morale-boosting victory going into the three-match ODI series, starting Wednesday in Southampton – live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12.30pm (first ball, 1pm).
After being inserted by Beaumont at the toss, Shafali Verma was the standout with the bat for India, the opener cracking 13 boundaries and a six in her 75 off 41 balls, helping the visitors recover from the loss of Smriti Mandhana (8) and Jemimah Rodrigues (1) inside the first three overs.
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At one stage, Verma – who struck India’s second-fastest T20I fifty, off 23 balls – appeared to be firing her side to an imposing total, only for them to be impressively pegged back by England’s trio of spinners.
Charlie Dean (3-23), Sophie Ecclestone (2-28) and Linsey Smith (1-26) combined for superb figures of 6-77 from their 12 overs, while Maia Bouchier pulled off a stunning, diving catch on the boundary to crucially see the back of Verma in the 14th as India were restricted to 167-7
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Bouchier returned to the England side in place of Alice Capsey, who was left out along with seamers Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer, rested ahead of the ODIs.
Tasked with knocking off a women’s record run-chase at Edgbaston, but the brilliant batting of Wyatt-Hodge and Dunkley quickly made India’s total look, if anything, below par.
Wyatt-Hodge earned a reprieve in the second over, dropped by Sree Charani at short fine-leg as one burst through her hands and to the boundary, and it proved to be a costly error as she kicked on through to a 30-ball half century.
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Dunkley looked set to follow her partner through to the same mark, only to fall four short in the 11th over, bowled through the gate by Radha Yadav (1-20).
One became two in the 12th when Wyatt-Hodge’s day was done when slogging one up to mid-on off Depti Sharma (2-31), but stand-in skipper Beaumont’s knock had appeared appeared to stave off the threat of any late wobble until the final-over drama.
Beaumont was bowled by Arundhati Reddy (2-47), while Jones was gone two balls later to a spectacular diving catch by Radha Yadav at deep midwicket – England’s task suddenly a lot tougher, with five still needed from the final three balls.
But Ecclestone took three off Reddy’s next, with singles exchanged off the last two for the win, although Mandhana missed the chance to run out Ecclestone with a direct hit from mid-on off the final ball.
England stand-in captain Tammy Beaumont:
“It has been a difficult series for us but credit to India, they have played some challenging cricket. They have come out with power in their batting line-up and at times we haven’t had the answers.
“But I am proud of the girls to put on a performance tonight. I am really glad we got that win. We showed character, which is all we ask for.
“A lot has been said about our athleticism but that is not something you can fix overnight. We are putting the work in and are starting to see more [good] performances under pressure.”
“It just might take a bit longer to have the perfect game.”
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur:
“It is a great achievement for us to win the series and I thought we played well today, it was very close. It was a great effort and the way we fought back was outstanding.
“It is all about how you’re training. The camps we had before coming here helped give us confidence.
“The ODIs are another format we all love and hopefully the way we played the T20 series will help us go into that with the same mindset.”
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