India inflicted a wounding defeat on England for the second match in succession to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Jemimah Rodrigues and Amanjot Kaur dug India out of trouble with vibrant half-centuries, and the bowlers all did their bit to keep England’s chase at bay despite a belligerent fifty from Tammy Beaumont.

Coming off the back of a record defeat in the series opener at Trent Bridge, England kept faith with the same XI – and the same tactics – as Nat Sciver-Brunt put India in. England’s seamers backed that call by reducing India to 31 for 3 in the powerplay, only for a fourth-wicket stand of 93 in 55 balls to emphatically wrest the game from their grasp.

Rodrigues recovered from a slow start to reel off a flurry of boundaries, eventually falling for 63 off 41. Amanjot was similarly brimming with energy as she brought up a maiden T20I fifty, adding an unbeaten partnership of 57 with Richa Ghosh as India recorded the second-highest total in women’s T20 internationals at Bristol. In all, the last 10 overs leaked 117 runs – India’s third-highest aggregate for the second half of a women’s T20I innings (where ball-by-ball data is available).

Amanjot then claimed the key wicket of Sciver-Brunt as England suffered their own powerplay slump at 17 for 3. Beaumont made her first T20I half-century in almost four years, adding 70 off 49 in partnership with Amy Jones, but she was run out by Sneh Rana’s pinpoint throw as the required rate began to climb.

Sophie Ecclestone produced some late hitting – and a reminder of her all-round ability – in making 35 off 23 but it was not enough, leaving Sciver-Brunt and England coach, Charlotte Edwards, with much to ponder ahead of Friday’s crucial encounter at the Kia Oval.

Since beginning the summer with an opening partnership of 51 against West Indies at Canterbury, Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s stands have since read 0, 0, 9 and 2. That has largely that has been down to Wyatt-Hodge’s struggles – she has made 18 runs in five innings. Here, it was Dunkley who was first to go, slapping the ball straight to Deepti Sharma at extra cover and then being sent back after attempting a non-existent single.

Wyatt-Hodge managed to end a run of three successive ducks, but her success was relative as she attempted to hit her second ball over the top only to pick out mid-off. Having been dismissed three times in a row by Zaida James’ left-arm spin during the West Indies series, she has now gone two from two against Deepti’s offies.

Heather Knight’s injury in the third T20I against West Indies opened the door for Beaumont to make a return in this format – albeit in an unaccustomed spot batting at No. 4. And the carnage suffered by England’s top order meant she was in the middle by the eighth ball of the innings anyway. She would soon set about reaffirming her credentials ahead of next year’s home T20 World Cup.

From 11 off 10, she struck Radha Yadav for back-to-back boundaries in a 15-run seventh over. She was dropped on 24, a tough caught-and-bowled chance off Amanjot, before crunching Sneh Rana for three consecutive fours as England reached the 10-over mark on 76 for 3, marginally ahead of India’s score at same stage.

A cut off N Shree Charani’s left-arm spin followed by a single into the leg side brought up Beaumont’s first T20I fifty since she made 97 against New Zealand in September 2021. However, she only faced two more balls. After cutting Yadav firmly to backward point, she paid the price for hesitating as Amy Jones called her through, a brilliant throw from Rana catching Beaumont inches short at the non-striker’s end to leave England needing 95 from 51.

When Alice Capsey and Jones fell in the same over from Shree Charani, the equation had become 72 off 30 and there would be no great escape, as England lost a women’s T20 international at Bristol for the first time.

England started poorly with Capsey conceding 11 off the first over, with Smriti Mandhana, fresh off a T20I hundred at Trent Bridge, immediately back into her groove. But Filer quickly made the breakthrough from the other end, cramping Shafali Verma with one back of a length that flicked the gloves through to Jones.

Lauren Bell’s first over cost just two runs, and although Rodrigues picked off a couple more boundaries, there were signs of England’s greater intensity in the field: Ecclestone pulling off a diving stop at mid-off; Dunkley pouncing on a Rodrigues drive to then shy at the non-striker’s end.

That was topped by Bell’s flying catch at mid-on to dismiss Mandhana for 13, as Em Arlott claimed the big wicket with her fourth ball. While the shot would have cleared several members of the England team, Bell was able to leap and contort herself in the air to hold on brilliantly.

With Filer stooping for a low take in the following over to dismiss India’s returning captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, India were seemingly in trouble on 35 for 3 at the end of the powerplay.

Coming in at No. 3, Rodrigues took some time to get her eye in. She was initially troubled by Filer’s pace when she went short, and was going at just above a run a ball for the first half of her innings, happy to rebuild in partnership with Amanjot.

At 64 for 3 after 10 overs, India then needed to kick on, and Rodrigues provided the impetus. She responded to a blow on the helmet from Arlott by creaming the seamer over long-on to start a sequence of 6,4,4. She greeted the returning Filer with two impudent scoops over the keeper – the second of which almost went for six – and a slash through third, at which point she had scored 10 of India’s 13 boundaries. In between she brought up a 33-ball half-century, her first against England in 21 limited-overs internationals.

Amanjot then picked up the cudgels to take three more boundaries off Ecclestone, cutting and sweeping with elan, as India produced consecutive overs worth 16, 18 and 15. Although Rodrigues was out shortly after, slapping Bell to cover to end a scintillating stand, only one side had the momentum.

Batting as high as No. 5 for the first time, allrounder Amanjot showed considerable poise throughout her innings. She had one early boundary – chipping Smith over mid-off to bring cheers from the India supporters in the crowd – and was 18 off 18 balls before tucking into Ecclestone, England’s premier spinner.

She then accelerated brilliantly through the back of the innings in partnership with Ghosh, bringing up her maiden international half-century from 35 balls as England’s frailties from the first T20I reemerged. Ghosh thundered six boundaries in a 20-ball cameo, though she had a life on 12 when Beaumont inexplicably made a hash of a top-edged sweep at square leg.

While Bell finished with fine figures of 2 for 17 and Ecclestone looked sharper in her second match back, India’s swashbucklers were brutal on the rest.

Brief scores:
India Women  181 for 4 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 13, Jemimah Rodrigues 63, Amanjot Kaur 63*, Richa Goshe 32*; Lauren Filler 1-42, Lauren Bell 2-17, Em Arlott 1-43) beat England Women  157 for 7 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 13, Tammy Beaumont 54, Amy Jones 32, Em Arlott 12*, Sophie  Ecclestone 35;  Deepti Sharma 1-30, Shree Charani 2-28, Amanjot Kaur 1-28) by 24 runs

[Cricinfo]