With England needing just five runs from three balls, Indian spinner Radha Yadav made a spectacular catch to eliminate Amy Jones in the closing seconds of the fifth Twenty20 International. England maintained their composure to win the match by five wickets in spite of her genius. However, India defeated England 3-2 in the five-match series, their first-ever away victory in a T20I series.
Jones tried a slog sweep after Arundhati Reddy produced a length delivery in the 20th over, which resulted in the spectacular catch. Radha Yadav, who was positioned at deep midwicket, ran forward and made an incredible low catch. She finished the dismissal by keeping a tight hold with her right hand even though the ball momentarily leaped out and one of her hands lost control.
Before dismissing the catch, the third umpire went over it multiple times. India’s hold on the match was temporarily strengthened when Arundhati claimed his second wicket of the over. Jones scored 10 off 12 balls and left.
India scored 167 for 7 in their 20 overs earlier in the game. Shafali Verma, the opener, stole the show with a scorching 75 off 41 balls that included 14 boundaries. Despite Richa Ghosh’s rapid 24 off 16, the remainder of the batting order was unable to offer much assistance. Sophie Ecclestone took two wickets in her four-over performance, while England’s Charlie Dean was the best bowler with three.
In a tight finish in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England chased 168 runs and crossed the finish line off the final ball. Danielle Wyatt-Hodge scored a strong 56 off 37 balls to lead the innings. Sophia Dunkley, who scored 46 off 30, and captain Tammy Beaumont, who hit a useful 30 off 20, provided her with strong support. Ecclestone and Paige Scholfield maintained composure to win in the closing moments.
Arundhati Reddy and Deepti Sharma each claimed two wickets for India, but Radha Yadav fielding performance was particularly noteworthy.
India celebrated winning their first-ever T20I series on English soil, despite the defeat in the final game. Shree Charani won Player of the Series, and Charlotte Dean was named Player of the Match.
With the opening match set for Wednesday, July 16 at Southampton’s The Rose Bowl, both teams will now turn their attention to the three-match ODI series.
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