India left-arm spinner Shree Charani has rued missing the chance of picking up a victory in the second T20I against England in Bristol, but embraces the challenge of winning the next game to clinch the series.
England beat India by 26 runs in the second game of the series, levelling it 1-1, after India won the first T20I by 38 runs at Chelmsford. The series offers the team vital preparation before the start of their T20 World Cup campaign.
“I think every match is important for us to win, to get confidence or to get something out of the match. If we had won here, I think we were two wins, so it would have given us more confidence. I think now we have a good challenge ahead for us, so I think we’ll take it,” Charani said at the post-match press conference, as reported by NDTV.
Electing to bat, England finished their innings 168 for 5 in their 20 overs. All-rounder Freya Kemp scored a quickfire unbeaten 39 off 13 balls, including 24 runs off Arundhati Reddy’s final over of the game. India were able to manage a score of 142 for 9 in their 20 overs. Kemp was again at the forefront as she finished with figures of 2 for 15 from two overs, which included the big wickets of Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues.
Despite the defeat, the 21-year-old spinner was one of the standouts, finishing with figures of 3 for 16, with all three being crucial scalps. Her victims included opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge, wicketkeeper batter Amy Jones and former captain Heather Knight. She backs her strengths and tries to bowl at that without altering her plans, and believes the turning ball is her strength.
“I am just trying to bowl to my strength, that’s it, not much, I am not trying anything, just sequence bowling. I think turning the ball is my key strength,” she added.
The third and final T20I will be played in Taunton on Tuesday, June 2. The Indian team will play two warm-up games in Cardiff on June 8 and 10, before starting their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 14 at Edgbaston.
