Poor England slump to second defeat by India in women's T20
A poor all-round performance from England saw India take a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20 series with a convincing 24-run win at Bristol, reports BBC.com.
England dominated the opening powerplay as India slipped to 31-3 - including Saturday's centurion Smriti Mandhana for 13 - but contributions of 63 apiece from Jemimah Rodrigues and Amanjot Kaur led a brilliant recovery to 181-4.
The pair added 93 for the fourth wicket as England lost control of the middle overs, before Richa Ghosh's unbeaten 32 boosted the innings at the death.
In reply, England's all-too-familiar batting frailties were exposed once again as they failed to recover from an early wobble to 17-3, eventually scrambling to 157-7 after Tammy Beaumont's 54 and a cameo of 35 from Sophie Ecclestone.
Openers Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley fell in the first two overs and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt was caught at mid-on for 13, before Beaumont's counter-attacking knock kept England in the game with 106 needed from the final 10 overs.
But Beaumont's run-out in the 12th over shifted the game back in India's favour and Amy Jones - who added 70 for the fourth wicket with Beaumont - and Alice Capsey both followed shortly after in the 15th, dismissed by the left-arm spin of Shree Charani.
Ecclestone's 23-ball knock ensured England finished with some respectability but with many of the same mistakes repeated from the thrashing at Trent Bridge, the new leadership of Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards is being put to the test by a rapidly improving India who are building plenty of confidence going into their home 50-over World Cup in the autumn.
England are without Heather Knight's middle-order stability, but the repetitive manner of these defeats are a concern with the World Cup approaching and only three 50-over matches to come beforehand.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur: 'It was a good win for us. It's something special to see.
'We stay positive, see how many runs we can put on the board and see how our bowlers can contribute.
'It's a long time before the T20 World Cup. At the moment our main focus is on this series.'
ScorescColor:> India 181-4 (20 overs): A Kaur 63* (40), Rodrigues 63 (41); Bell 2-17
England 157-7 (20 overs): Beaumont 54 (35); Shree Charani 2-28. India won by 24 runs; lead series 2-0.
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