Sophie Ecclestone became England Women's top T20I wicket-taker with a 65-run win at the County Ground in Northampton, securing a series win against Pakistan.
Unlike the series opener at Edgbaston, England made the most of winning the toss in the first 10 overs on the back of a strong partnership on the second wicket between Maia Boussier and Alice Capsey and returned home. Nat Cyber-Blunt had 31 RBIs. He also threw just 21 balls.
However, Pakistan fought back late in the innings and Nida Dar became the leading women's T20I wicket-taker with 137 as England set the tourists for 145 to seal the win and seal the series at Leeds on Sunday. It forced a decisive battle. .
However, Pakistan could not recover from the loss of three wickets early on, including 25-year-old Ecclestone setting a new national team record by taking his 115th scalp in the shortest format. , England held on to a 2-0 series lead before succumbing to 79. .
England get off to a good start, Nida sets new record
England, who won the toss and chose to bat first, got off to a good start as opener Boussier took the first shot of the match with a four-square, and in the end, he hit 10 runs off Waheeda Akhtar in that over to set the momentum. got off to a good start.
Fellow opener Danny Wyatt was dismissed by Akhtar after just six at the start of the third over, but new batsman Capsey was up to the task immediately, putting on a 49-run stand for the second wicket. He helped push the host team into an advantageous position.
Akhtar in particular was bound to take some punishment from the 19-year-old as she took 20 runs in just five overs and all but her penultimate delivery found the goal line.
At the drinks break, a partnership between Boussier and Capsey gave England a 77-1 lead, but Boussier missed on 30 of 26 balls as he went for a single immediately after the restart, but cover fielder Diana Baig collected the ball. The ball broke because I threw it. Back to wicketkeeper Muneebah Ali, causing a run-out.
Muneeva then caught Capsey off Nida Dar for 31 in the 12th over to leave England reeling at 76-3, but missed the first T20I due to egg freezing treatment and was replaced by specialist batsman Freya Kemp. Shiver-Brant, who appeared as a substitute, was wasted. It took a little while to get the innings back on track.
Among them was a spectacular reverse log sweep from right-hander Nida in the 14th over to score four runs, and in the following over, Shiver-Brandt smashed three more off sluggish left-hander Nashra Sandhu to take England past 100 points. I was driven to.
However, her resistance ended when she was caught by Fatima Sana off Sadia Iqbal on the first ball of number 16 and holed out to Waheeda at long range before being brought back to the pavilion by England captain Heather Knight after just four overs. Ta. It's just out of bounds from Baig's bowling.
Nida overtook Australia's Megan Schutt in the final over to become the all-time leading women's T20I wicket-taker, ousting Amy Jones, who was caught 18 times by fellow wicketkeeper Muneebah.
But Daniel Gibson's cameo, 18 off nine balls, including two fours and the only six of the innings, and Ecclestone's seven, pushed the hosts to 144-6 at the end of the game.
Eccleston breaks England record as hosts seal series win
Looking to keep the series alive heading into Sunday's third T20I, Pakistan were almost on the back foot from the off with Lauren Bell picking up two wickets in four balls in her third over of reply.
First, the seamer caught Seagull Feroza (3) in the deep square of the wicket by Boussier, then Wyatt took a brilliant catch to take away Sadaf Shamas' attempted cut-off. Bell returned to his right-hand pavilion without bothering the scorer.
Ecclestone needed just two balls to make an impact when he entered the attack in the sixth over, overtaking Katherine Silver-Brunt's T20I wicket tally of 114, who caught Muneeva and bowled her for 18, followed by fellow spinner Sarah Glenn trapped Nida LBW. One or more of the following:
Ecclestone failed to pick up the second wicket as Fatima Sana's LBW review in the 10th over was successful and Pakistan reached the drinks break with 5 wickets in hand and 79 runs needed for victory, but in the final In she left for the Glen with eight wickets after being clean bowled in two overs.
Man of the Match Capsey swung his bat to Aliya Riaz (19) with the first ball of the 13th over and there was little resistance from Pakistan after that as the right-arm spinner caught the wicket of Baig. Also for ducks.
Ecclestone then returned to clear the field and finished with 3 wins and 11 losses from 2.5 overs as Pakistan ran away with 25 balls left in the match.
what they said was
Player of the Match Alice Capsey:
“Once I got in there, I found it was easier. It felt slower and lower. It was important to have a plan and stick to it. Adapt to the game and try different shots than before. It was important to play.”
“I think we stalled a little bit in the last game, but it was about creating different lengths and being more aggressive.
“I try to work hard on my spin, so it’s nice to get a bowl and take a chance when I can.”
England captain Heather Knight:
“Glenn deserves a special mention, it was great to see the ball go after her today and it went to Bangladesh.
“Ecclestone is breaking records at the age of 25 and she is amazing at what she does and will be handy to have and will soon be leading the chasers at the top of the pack.
“Being ruthless is something we want to get better at. As a team, we want to be successful in our last game.”
What's next?
The T20I series will conclude with England and Pakistan taking on each other at Headingley on Sunday (1pm first pitch), which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket. A three-match ODI series between both teams will then begin with a derby on Thursday, May 23.
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