Guwahati(Assam): The last over heroics by Kate Cross allowed England to white-wash India in the three-match T20I series at Guwahati. India needed 3 runs off the final over of the match, but they could only manage one run as Mithali Raj was left stranded at the other end.
Chasing a target of 120 runs, India once again got off to a bad start as they lost their opener Harleen Deol (1) early.
Coming in at number three Jemimah Rodrigues (11) stitched together a partnership of 49 runs with Smriti Mandhana (58) providing much-needed stability to the innings.
Linsey Smith dismissed Rodrigues to give her team a chance of coming back in the match.
Mandhana was looking all set to take her team over the finishing line, but she was bowled by Laura Marsh.
Deepti Sharma (4) also was not able to stay on the crease for a long time, as she was sent back into the pavilion with Marsh producing a stunning piece of fielding to run the left-hander out.
But both Mithali Raj (30*) and Bharati Fulmali (5) stitched together a partnership of 22 runs to take the team closer to a win.
India lost Fulmali and Anuja back to back in the final over and India needed 3 runs off the final delivery to win the match, Shikha Pandey was able to score just one run on the final delivery allowing England to win the match by one run.
Earlier, England won the toss and they decided to bat first.
England was able to score just 119 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
The openers Danielle Wyatt (24) and Tammy Beaumont (29) once again provided a solid opening partnership of 51 runs at the top.
Their partnership was beginning to look threatening for the Indians, but Anuja Patil struck back dismissing the set opener Wyatt.
Natalie Sciver (0) also departed early as Poonam Yadav went through her defence and rattled her stumps.
Beaumont who was looking to guide the England innings to a safe total was dismissed by Patil and England were quickly reduced to 54 for three.
Heather Knight (11) and Amy Jones (26) stitched together a brief partnership of 19 runs, but Ekta Bisht sent Knight back into the pavilion ending their resistance in the middle.
Indian spinners kept on taking wickets at regular intervals not allowing the England team to capitalise on their good start.
With Jones’s departure, England’s hopes of posting a good score vanished and they were able to post just 119 runs on the board.
Anuja Patil and Harleen Deol were the picks of the Indian bowlers as they both picked up two wickets each.
With Cross’s heroics, England defeated India in the three-match T20 series 3-0.
Brief scores: Indian Women 118-6 (S Mandhana 58, M Raj 30*, Kate Cross 2-18, L Smith 1-20) defeated England Women 119-6(TT Beaumont 29, A Jones 26, AA Patil 2-13, H Deol 2-13) by six wickets.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]