Vrinda Dinesh Powers India A to Competitive Total
England A Women bounced back in the second T20 against India A Women with a five-wicket victory at the County Ground in Northampton, levelling the three-match series at 1-1 ahead of the decider in Chelmsford.
After being asked to bat, India A posted a challenging 172/4, thanks to a superb innings from Vrinda Dinesh.
India made a brisk start as Deeya Yadav struck three boundaries in the opening over, while Vrinda immediately found her rhythm with a series of elegant drives and attacking strokes. However, Ryana MacDonald-Gay halted the early momentum with a wicket maiden, trapping Deeya with an inswinger.
Despite losing an early wicket, India continued to build steadily. Vrinda shared an excellent partnership with Purvaja Verlekar before adding another rapid stand alongside captain Anushka Sharma. Verlekar contributed a valuable 30, while Anushka remained unbeaten on 37 to keep the innings moving.
Vrinda dominated the scoring throughout her stay, smashing 79 runs with a mixture of powerful pulls, sweeps and lofted drives before eventually holing out late in the innings. India finished strongly to post 172/4 from their 20 overs.
MacDonald-Gay Impresses Despite England’s Fielding Errors
Although England A dropped five catches during the innings, Ryana MacDonald-Gay produced an outstanding spell with the ball.
The Surrey seamer claimed 2/10 while delivering an exceptional 19 dot balls, repeatedly breaking partnerships with her accurate inswing bowling. She removed both Deeya Yadav and Purvaja Verlekar, finishing as England’s standout bowler.
Chathli and Scrivens Put England in Control
England A approached the chase positively from the outset despite losing Ella McCaughan after an encouraging start.
Captain Kira Chathli joined Grace Scrivens and the pair quickly seized control of the innings with an excellent 61-run partnership for the second wicket. England raced to 68/1 during the powerplay as both batters rotated the strike well while punishing loose deliveries.
Scrivens played fluently for her 39 before edging Simran Dil Bahadur to cover point, but Chathli continued to dominate. The skipper mixed confident sweeps with powerful lofted strokes and reached a well-deserved half-century from just 26 deliveries.
Her entertaining innings of 53 ended when Shabnam Shakil bowled her attempting a pull shot, but England remained firmly in command.
Heath Finishes the Job
With the required rate still demanding positive batting, Bess Heath took responsibility for guiding England over the line.
The wicketkeeper-batter struck an unbeaten 40 from only 23 deliveries, playing several authoritative drives through the covers while also clearing the infield with confidence. Even after India picked up late wickets through Minnu Mani and Shabnam Shakil, Heath remained composed.
She accelerated in the closing stages with successive boundaries, including reverse sweeps and crisp cover drives, to take England A to 173/5 in 18.1 overs and complete the chase with 11 balls remaining.
Series Set for Decider
India’s bowling produced moments of success, with Shabnam Shakil returning figures of 2/30 and Minnu Mani also making an important breakthrough. However, England’s aggressive batting approach, led by Chathli and finished expertly by Heath, proved enough to overhaul the target.
The victory levels the three-match series at 1-1, setting up a winner-takes-all decider between England A Women and India A Women in Chelmsford.
