Faced with a competitive total on a sluggish surface, there was a feeling of inevitability around how England’s innings would unfold, and it started to unravel almost immediately.
Dunkley was run out at the end of the first over by Deepti Sharma before she then dismissed Wyatt-Hodge from the first ball of the second, bizarrely striking the ball straight to mid-off as the opener now has just one run from her past four T20 innings.
Sciver-Brunt fell in the fourth over but Beaumont, recently recalled to the T20 side after a couple of years in and out, seemed to learn from India’s batters and shifted around the crease efficiently to force the spinners off target with eight fours and a six, batting with her trademark swagger and a determined look to steer her side to victory.
But she was called through for a risky single from Jones, and Sneh Rana at point pulled off an exceptional piece of work to summarise India’s noticeable improvement in the field, swooping and throwing in one movement while still on her knees, with bowler Radha Yadav whipping off the bails as Beaumont’s full-stretch dive saw her just short of her ground.
From there, it was a precession. Another soft dismissal for Capsey saw her chip Shree Charani to cover for five, Jones was caught and bowled four balls later and despite Ecclestone and Arlott’s entertaining seventh-wicket stand of 47, the result was already a foregone conclusion.
England are without Heather Knight’s middle-order stability, but the repetitive manner of these defeats are a concern with the World Cup approaching and only three 50-over matches to come beforehand.
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