All-round Freya Kemp helps England draw level

England excelled in the death overs – with both bat and ball – as they secured a series-levelling 26-run win against India in the second T20I in Bristol.

After solid contributions from the top order, it was Freya Kemp's breezy knock towards the end that lifted England to 168 for 5 after they were 129 for 5 in 18 overs. India, in reply, began well and were in a decent position at 109 for 2 after 15 overs. But England bowled well in the last five overs, with Kemp and Charlie Dean doing the bulk of the damage, keeping the visitors to 142 for 9.

It was a quiet start for England in the first couple of overs after opting to bat, while Sophia Dunkley also got a reprieve – put down by Jemimah Rodrigues off Nandni Sharma. Dunkley went on to club a six off Arundhati Reddy before Nandni sent her back in the fifth over, getting the batter to edge to the 'keeper attempting a cut. A couple of boundaries from Danni Wyatt-Hodge powered a slightly better ending to England's Powerplay, although they got only 35 in the first six overs.

Wyatt-Hodge added 36 for the second wicket with Amy Jones for company, but the partnership ended in the ninth over when the former was lured down the track by Shree Charani and ended up slicing it to short third. At the halfway stage, England were 71 for 2 and Jones went on to collect a couple of boundaries before getting out to Shree Charani, handing a catch to extra cover. Deepti Sharma, meanwhile, was struck for a couple of fours by Alice Capsey and Heather Knight as she finished wicketless in her four overs. The England captain then hit a four off Nandni, taking England to 110 for 3 after 15 overs.

In a bid to accelerate in the death overs, England lost a couple of quick wickets as Knight handed a catch back to Shree Charani while Capsey was bowled by Shreyanka Patil attempting a reverse sweep. That England posted close to 170 was thanks to Kemp, who struck an unbeaten 39 off 13, including two sixes and two fours in the final over off Arundhati. Danielle Gibson supported her well, hitting two fours in her 11 not out, with the sixth wicket pair adding 42 in only 15 deliveries.

Shafali Verma set the tone for the chase with a flurry of boundaries – three of them off Linsey Smith in the second over and a couple off Lauren Bell. However, the opener fell in the third over to Bell, handing a catch to extra cover. Yastika Bhatia struck a four off her first ball while Smriti Mandhana, on 4 off 9 at the end of the fourth over, got into the act with two fours off Sophie Ecclestone and a boundary off Smith to take India to 49 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay.

Mandhana and Yastika put on a good stand and the latter also had a lucky break, put down by Ecclestone off Kemp. In the same over, Mandhana struck two fours before getting a top edge, which ended the 43-run second wicket stand. Yastika then struck two fours off Gibson in one over and was dropped again as Dean missed a return catch. The asking rate, however, was creeping up and Harmanpreet Kaur eased some of the pressure with a six off Bell, which took her past 4000 T20I runs – only the third to achieve the milestone in Women's T20Is. At the end of the 15th over, India's required rate went up to 12 as they moved to 109 for 2.

Yastika's scoring rate had dropped considerably: she was 28 off 24 at the end of the 11th over, and reached only 33 off 36 by the end of the 15th. Ahead of the death overs, she was retired out – the first such occasion for an Indian batter – bringing Rodrigues to the crease. But her stay was short-lived too as she fell to Kemp. The equation was 55 off the last four overs, which became 47 off the last three after Richa Ghosh hit a boundary off Smith. Ghosh, however, got out to Dean going for a slogsweep, and Harmanpreet fell in the same over leaving India at 130 for 6 and needing 39 off the last two overs. Bell then bowled a good over, conceding only seven runs and picking up Deepti's wicket, while Ecclestone also got among the wickets, helping England complete a clinical win.

Brief scores: England 168/5 in 20 overs (Freya Kemp 39* off 13, Danni Wyatt-Hodge 29 off 25; Shree Charani 3-25) beat India 142/9 in 20 overs (Yastika Bhatia 33 off 26, Smriti Mandhana 32 off 25; Charlie Dean 2-20, Freya Kemp 2-15) by 26 runs.