England women's cricket team secured a crucial five-run victory over India in the third T20I at The Oval on Friday, keeping the five-match series alive at 2-1 in India's favour. The match featured a record-breaking collapse by England and saw Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma reach the milestone of 300 international wickets, becoming only the sixth women's cricketer to achieve this feat.
England posted a total of 171 runs after a strong opening partnership of 137 runs between Sophia Dunkley and her partner in 15.1 overs. Dunkley's impressive innings of 75 runs off 53 balls, including seven fours and a six, earned her the player-of-the-match award.
The match witnessed a remarkable turn of events when Deepti Sharma dismissed Dunkley, triggering an unprecedented collapse in international cricket history. England lost nine wickets in just 25 deliveries, adding only 31 runs during this phase, setting a new record for the fewest balls taken to lose nine wickets in international cricket across both men's and women's formats.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A simply incredible contest ��<br/>We keep the series alive! ��<br/><br/>Full 3rd IT20 highlights �� <a href="https://t.co/2tHDTxmclp">pic.twitter.com/2tHDTxmclp</a></p>— England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1941391596978655414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Deepti Sharma's bowling figures of 3/27 in four overs helped her join an elite group of women cricketers with 300 or more international wickets. The list includes Jhulan Goswami leading with 355 wickets, followed by Katherine Sciver-Brunt (335), Ellyse Perry (331), Shabnim Ismail (317), and Anisa Mohammed (305).
In response to England's total of 171, the Indian team managed to score 166 runs in their allotted 20 overs, falling short by five runs. This defeat marked India's first loss on their ongoing England tour.
The match highlighted a unique record from earlier this year during a Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier match in Bangkok. The
UAE team retired all their 10 batters after reaching 192/0 in 16 overs against Qatar, becoming the first instance in T20I history where a team retired more than two batters in an innings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The match went down to the wire but it's England who win the Third T20I by 5 runs<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamIndia</a> will aim to bounce back in Manchester<br/> <br/>Scorecard ▶️ <a href="https://t.co/lHShFa613K">https://t.co/lHShFa613K</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvIND</a> <a href="https://t.co/EArf7TarPY">pic.twitter.com/EArf7TarPY</a></p>— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCIWomen/status/1941238981393633311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This unusual decision by UAE resulted in eight ducks in their innings. Qatar's subsequent collapse for 29 runs brought the total number of ducks in the match to 15, setting a new record for the most ducks in a women's T20I match.
The series now moves to Old Trafford in Manchester for the fourth match scheduled for July 9.
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