Twitter Reactions: England defeat Australia in rain-curtailed thrilling decider at Lord's to clinch T20I series of Women's Ashes 2023

England and Australia squared off in the third and final game of the T20I series of the ongoing Women’s Ashes 2023 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on July 8, Saturday. It was a must-win game for the hosts as they couldn’t afford a defeat in order to cover Australia’s lead. 

Winning the toss, England put the visitors to bat first. The England bowlers did justice to their skipper Heather Knight’s decision, as they restricted Australia from scoring much, while also picking up a wicket in the powerplay. Charlie Dean struck in the very first ball of the fourth over and trapped the Australian skipper in front of the stumps to give her side a crucial breakthrough.

Australia’s top-order batters managed to finish the powerplay at 36/1 and looked to build the innings as the field opened up, but Danielle Gibson had other plans, as she dismissed Tahlia McGrath in the seventh over for a 13-ball 10. Nat Sciver-Brunt then struck twice in the 10^th and 14^th over to dismiss the in-form and destructive batters, Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner.

All-rounder Ellyse Perry looked to take the team’s total on the higher end, but Lauren Bell sent her back to the pavilion. Perry showed dissatisfaction with the umpire’s decision and took third umpire’s opinion, but she couldn’t succeed as the DRS was down and the on-field umpire was asked to stay with the original decision.

Sophie Ecclestone picked up a wicket on the penultimate delivery of the final over, and also run Grace Harris (25 off 15) out on the final delivery to restrict the Aussies to 155/7 in their 20-over quota. Perry was the pick of the batters in the Australian side, as she finished with a 25-ball 34. While Nat Sciver registered 2/31 in four overs, Bell was the pick of the bowlers for her 1/24 in four overs.

England's thrilling chase leads to a historic win

England's start to the chase was delayed due to rain, but they got off to a solid start as the play resumed, courtesy of Danni Wyatt. The DLS method came into play as the hosts had to chase 119 in 14 overs as per the revised target, but Wyatt made it look like a cakewalk as she walked out with the bat.

Wyatt's blitzkrieg came to an end when Megan Schutt dismissed her on the final delivery of the fourth over for a 15-ball 29, as England finished their four-over powerplay at 39/1. Australia picked up back to back wickets as Sophia Dunkley followed Wyatt to the dugout on the very next ball of the game.

It was then an Alice Capsey show, as the 18-year-old showcased brilliance with the bat, taking the deadly Australian bowlers to the cleaners. Nat Sciver contributed well as the duo put up a 68-run partnership for the third wicket but Capsey was the star performer as she placed her shots beautifully and batted at a strike rate of 200 before falling four runs short of a well-deserved half-century. 

Following Capsey's dismissal in the 12th over, skipper Heather Knight joined Nat Sciver on the field. When nine runs were needed off the final two overs, Knight smashed the ball over the mid-off for a boundary and cut the equation short. Sciver was dismissed on the fifth delivery of the penultimate over, and Knight followed her when Jess Jonassen sent her off on the very first delivery of the final over.

But Danielle Gibson held her nerves and hit a reverse sweep to send the ball towards the boundary, thereby clinching a magnificent win for the home side at the mecca of cricket, the Lord's. England won the T20I series 2-1, and kept their hopes of winning the Ashes alive, thereby taking the scoreline of the multi-format series to 4-6. 

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