News – Taunton, 2 June 2026, 17:29
England skipper Charlie Dean called correctly and, without hesitation, chose to bowl in the third and final T20I, the last match either side will play before the World Cup kicks off in ten days. The conditions – heavy cloud cover but reasonably bright light, plus a stiff westerly blowing straight across the Cooper Associates County Ground – made the decision look fairly straightforward.
“We know what we’re chasing and that always helps,” Dean said at the toss. “Same XI, the girls earned another crack.”
Saturday’s 26-run win in Bristol means the hosts arrive level at 1-1 and, crucially, with momentum. Head coach Jon Lewis talked up the importance of putting India’s top order under pressure again but reminded reporters: “It’s still only a dress-rehearsal; we’d rather learn our lessons now than in Guyana next week.”
India have freshened things up. Right-arm seamer Kranti Gaud, impressive in game one at Chelmsford where she picked up 2 for 23, returns in place of off-spinner Shreyanka Patil. “Just the single tweak,” Harmanpreet Kaur confirmed. “We liked the extra pace option, especially if the wind gets up.”
Apart from that, both groups stick with what they know. England’s batting stays in the hands of Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge up top, with Heather Knight floating at five to provide experience. India again rely on Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma to make the kind of start that sets up their middle order.
There is no rain on the radar and, despite the breeze, temperatures are mild for early June. The surface has a light sheen of grass but looks hard underneath; first-innings par here sits around 155, though anything over 145 generally asks questions in a chase.
Teams
England: Dunkley, Wyatt-Hodge, Jones (wk), Capsey, Knight, Kemp, Gibson, Dean (capt), Ecclestone, Smith, Bell.
India: Mandhana, Verma, Bhatia, Kaur (capt), Rodrigues, Ghosh (wk), Sharma, Reddy, Gaud, Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma.
First ball was scheduled for 18:30 local time.
