Danielle Wyatt smashed a 52-ball century as England chased down India’s 198/4 with seven wickets and eight balls to spare. In doing so, the visitors also scripted the record highest chase in women’s Twenty20 Internationals.
England opener Wyatt made a mockery of the second highest score in T20Is with her superlative ton. the highest chase also belongs to England, chasing 179 against Australia in 2017 at Canberra.
Earlier, India finished at a commanding 198/4, which was the highest score for India in T20Is. In front a sizeable crowd at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the batters came good after four straight losses at home.
It was a strong batting performance with a solid 129-run opening foundation from Mandhana-Raj and a superb cameo from the promoted Pooja Vastrakar. In response, England started the huge chase with an attacking mindset, getting 26 in the first two overs.
All of India’s bowlers went for runs, even with spinner Anuja Patil starting with the new ball. Jhulan Goswami broke the dangerous opening partnership when she dismissed Bryony Smith in the sixth over. India’s most experienced bowler changed ends after going for runs in the first and managed to castle the newcomer who tried to go for a cheeky scoop.
At that point England were 61/1 but Tammy Beaumont and Wyatt showed no signs of relenting. After 67 runs in the Powerplay, they accelerated at breakneck speed to make sure the required run-rate never posed a problem.
Wyatt put up an extraordinary performance with a strike-rate consistently in the 200s. The opener got her runs all over the ground with 15 boundaries and 5 sixes, some of which were straight at the sight screen. She was finally dismissed on 124 (64) but by then the equation read 16 off 18 balls and the match was all but done.
Incidentally, her first T20I century (which was also the first by an England woman) came last November when they broke the earlier record for the highest chase in T20IS, chasing Australia’s 178. She had taken 56 balls then.
