England clinch T20 series against India

With the series locked 1-1 after India won the second game to draw level with the reigning world T20 champions, who clinched the series opener, the stage was set for the decider in which England proved superior.

The visitors restricted the home team to 125 for four after asking India to bat first and then hit up 126 for five in 19.2 overs to emerge convincing victors.

India started disastrously by losing opener and wicket keeper Sulakshana Naik in the fourth ball and then made a partial recovery through skipper Mithali Raj (22) and other opener Poonam Raut (28) who put on 48 runs in 9.1 overs.

But the dismissal of this pair in close succession pegged India back before in-form Harmanpreet Kaur (30 off 25 balls) and the seasoned Anjum Chopra (22) added 56 runs in eight overs to take the score past 100.Chasing the modest target, England started in poor fashion by losing three early wickets, two of them grabbed by left-arm bowler Gouher Sultana before Laura Marsh (46 not out off 53 balls with five fours) took control and saw them home. Marsh was given good support by Beth Morgan (28) and Jennifer Gunn (22) for the fourth and fifth wickets that produced 49 and 44 runs to push England on way to the victory.

Sultana emerged the best bowler with 3 for 26 and India were again without their injured pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami.It was sweet revenge for England, who lost the 50-over five-match series 3-2 earlier.English skipper Charlotte Edwards said later that it was good to finish on a high note."It is great to finish the tour on a real high. Our priority was to win the Twenty20 series. We have all worked hard as a team throughout the tour," Edwards said.

"It has been great to see some of the younger girls getting international experience and making the most of their opportunities. I'm looking forward to defending our Twenty20 title in the West Indies," she added.

Brief score:
India 125 for 4 (Harmanpreet Kaur 30) lost to England 126 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Laura Marsh 46 not out; Gouher Sultana 3/26).