Watch: Shafali Varma defended 10 runs off the last over, conceding just one and picking three wickets alongside a run out, to hand India Women a close victory in the second T20I against Bangladesh Women today (July 12).
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India Women won the first match of the series comfortably by seven wickets. In the second T20I, they started well but soon lost momentum. Having won the toss, they elected to bat and openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Varma gave a decent start as India Women reached 33 for no loss in 4.1 overs.
From there-on, things went downhill. Six wickets fell for the next 28 runs as India Women succumbed to 61-6 in 14.3 overs. The last couple of partnerships took them close to a hundred as they finished on 95-8 from their 20 overs.
Chasing a small target of 96 to register a rare T20I victory over the Women in Blue, Bangladesh Women faltered right at the start. They collapsed to 30-4. Captain Nigar Sultana played a lone hand as she scored 38, albeit off 55 balls, but was dismissed at the wrong time.
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Bangladesh Women needed 10 off the last over with four wickets in hand. India had the option to go to Pooja Vastrakar, who had bowled a solitary over up front and had conceded ten runs. Instead, they chose Varma, a part-timer to do the job.
What followed was a crazy sequence of events.
Nahida Akter slogged a length ball in the air towards mid-wicket. What could have been a catch was converted into a one-bounce gather by the fielder Amanjot Kaur who then fired in a throw at the non-striker’s end, catching Rabeya Khan short as she tried to scamper back for a second.
Next ball, Nahida stepped out and looked to go downtown, but could only reach as far as Harleen Deol at the long-on boundary. The equation was now down to nine off four, with just two wickets remaining.
The next ball was a dot ball as Fahima Khatun missed an attempted scoop. Nine required off three.
Another length ball outside off. Another attempted drag-slog towards the leg side. Another miscue. This one went straight up in the air. After a bit of miscommunication, the catch was safely completed by Varma herself.
With nine required off two, it was do-or-die territory for Bangladesh Women. Varma smartly fired in a length ball close to the wide line on the offside, beating Marufa Akter’s swing. The last ball then resulted in another wicket, this time in the form of a stumping as Akter danced down to clear the ropes but missed the ball.
The over read: 1+W, W, 0, W, 0, W, as India Women completed an eight-run victory to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series in dramatic fashion.
