ENG-W vs IND-W: Freya Kemp's all-round brilliance helps England draw level in Bristol

England Women levelled the three-match series against India Women, with a 26-run victory in the second T20I on Saturday, May 30 at County Ground, Bristol. Batting first, England posted a good score of 168/5 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of a blistering innings lower down the order by Freya Kemp, while Amy Jones (28 off 22) and Alice Capsey (28 off 25) also made valuable contributions.

Shree Charani emerged as the pick of the bowlers for the Women in Blue with her three-wicket haul. In reply, India were restricted to 142/9 in their 20 overs, despite solid contributions from Yastika Bhatia (33 off 36) and Smriti Mandhana (32 off 25).

Freya Kemp (2/15, 2 overs), Charlotte Dean (2/20, 4 overs) and Lauren Bell (2/33, 4 overs) chipped in with two wickets each for the hosts and ran through the Indian batting lineup.

Meanwhile, with the series now level 1-1, the two teams will next take on each other in the series-decider third T20I on Tuesday, June 2 at The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

India got off to a good start to their chase and were 70/2 after nine overs with Yastika Bhatia and captain Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease. While Harmanpreet (28 off 22) kept the run rate in control, Bhatia was struggling at the crease, unable to rotate strike.

She walked off, retired hurt, with India needing 60 runs off the last five overs. The Women in Blue collapsed under rising pressure, losing last six wickets for 31 runs in 28 balls. 

Turning Point

Freya Kemp was deservedly adjudged Player of the match for her terrific all-round performance. She first scored a breathtaking 39* (13) with the help of four fours and two sixes to help England cross the 160-run mark.

Later with the ball, she got the prized scalp of a well-set Smriti Mandhana (32 off 25) and last game’s Player of the Match, Jemimah Rodrigues (1 off 2). She finished with figures of 2/15 in two overs, playing a key role in England’s victory with her all-round performance.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Charlotte Dean (England Women):

(on the team’s performance and defending the total) It was brilliant to get to the score that we got to and Kempy was exceptional and as were all the other girls as well. And to be able to defend that was pretty special. Ecclestone was brilliant towards the back end and it was nice to have Linsey and Bell opening up again. (on Freya Kemp’s innings and its impact on the match) Yeah, Freya was exceptional. She really took the momentum into our bowling innings. I think we needed a score like that to really put pressure on their batters. For her to go out there like that , especially when there have maybe been questions about our power, is brilliant. I know how good she can be, so it was really nice to see that. (on whether Freya’s role could change in the future) It’s a good question. Kempy is a very dynamic batter, so giving her a bit more time ... I don’t see why not. But she was brilliant today and I’m looking forward to Taunton. Hopefully we can put in a similar performance. (on Linsey Smith's return and the bowling effort) Yeah, we know how powerful India can be. Their batting line-up is brilliant, so we knew that we had to really execute towards the back end with the power that kept coming in. To be able to back ourselves up with that bowling performance was really impressive, especially after Chelmsford. It feels great to bounce back like that. (on the significance of the decider and the World Cup ahead) Hugely. They’re a really strong team, so to be able to win today and keep the series on the line is brilliant. Looking forward to Taunton.

Losing Captain, Harmanpreet Kaur (India Women):

(on the difference between the two teams) I think she (Freya Kemp) took the game away from us with the way she batted in the last two overs. We should give credit to her for the way she batted. (on the target of 168 at the halfway stage) No doubt they got 10 to 15 runs extra in the last over, and I think we started really well. It was only about building the partnership but unfortunately, we played too many dot balls in the middle and I think that really cost us. (on why the batting innings lost momentum) I think unnecessarily, we put pressure on us. When we were getting runs, we should have kept rotating the strike, but we played a lot of dot balls in between and that put a lot of pressure on us. (on the decision to retire Yastika  out) Unfortunately, she wasn’t connecting the ball and we thought Jemi was someone who got runs in the last game and give her a chance. But I think that didn’t work for us. (on whether there was any thought of promoting Jemimah up the order) Look, we never thought that this situation would come because Yastika batted really well in the first game and we thought she'll continue here. But it’s a game, sometimes you click and sometimes you don’t. It’s only about thinking what you have to do for the team.