Kemp stars with bat and ball as England level the T20I series against India
England Women hit straight back to level their T20I series against India, winning the second match by 26 runs at Bristol on Saturday to make it 1-1 with one game to play. Freya Kemp was at the heart of it with both bat and ball, and her all-round night earned her the player-of-the-match award.
Kemp's late blitz lifts England to 168
England won the toss, chose to bat, and got useful contributions through the middle order without anyone kicking on to a big score. Danni Wyatt-Hodge made 29, Amy Jones and Alice Capsey 28 apiece, and Heather Knight chipped in 18. What turned a competitive total into a difficult one was Kemp at the death. She finished unbeaten on 39 from just 13 balls, striking four fours and two sixes, to carry England to 168 for 5.
For India, Shree Charani was the standout with the ball, taking 3 for 25 from her four overs. The rest of the attack found the closing overs harder going, and that late surge proved the difference.
India's chase loses its way in the middle
Chasing 169, India kept losing wickets at the wrong moments. Yastika Bhatia top-scored with 33 before retiring out and Smriti Mandhana made 32, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur added 28. The problem was that no partnership grew large enough to keep pace with the rate, and once Jemimah Rodrigues fell for 1 the equation began to slip away. India were held to 142 for 9.
Kemp came back to take 2 for 15, and Lauren Bell and Charlie Dean claimed two wickets each as England tightened the screw from both ends through the back half of the innings.
Series down to a decider
India had taken the opener by 38 runs at Chelmsford on Thursday, so this evens things up and leaves everything riding on the final match. India will want a steadier top order and a calmer middle phase, while England will go in with confidence having found a method with the bat at the death and with Kemp in this kind of form.
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