Last update on. From the section CricketSecond women's international for women, Taunton India 221, 50 overs: Raj 59. Cross 5-34. Ecclestone 333 England 225-5 (47.3 Overs: Dunkley 73%, Brunt 33* and Poonam 263 England (2pts). Won by five wickets.England's unbeaten 73 by Sophia Dunkley helped them beat India by five wickets at Taunton in the second international. They now lead the multi-format series 6-2.Dunkley arrived with England 133-5 to chase 222. He played with great maturity in a stand of 92 runs with Katherine Brunt (33), to help England return home with 15 balls.England's top order was earlier dissolved to 82-3. Poonam Yadav, who had been recalled, took 2-63.India had scored 221 runs against England from their 50 overs. Anchored by Mithali Raj's 59 and Shafali Verma's aggressive 44, India had reached 221 runs.Kate Cross won 5-34, her first ODI five for since 2015. This put England on top. A last-wicket stand between Poonam Yadav and Jhulan Goswami of 27 helped India reach a tricky total.After Mithali Raj had injured her neck, India was led in the field in India by Harmanpreetkaur. They were more energetic and tidy than ever before.Dunkley showed patience and timing in her second ODI. This helped the hosts win a tight match.Dunkley stops India chargesThis was an excellent opportunity to test their batting skills, as England is defending their World Cup title within eight months.They were confronted with an energetic Indian fielding team, with the tourists appearing more relaxed, chasing the ball down and making more noise than England.England's top orders failed to fire for the first time in multi-format series.Jhulan Goswami bowled Tammy Beaumount, Heather Knight took Poonam to the mid-off, and Tanyia Bhattia caught Lauren Winfield-Hill.Nat Sciver looked fluent again, and after Harmanpreetkaur's low catch was adjudged to be on the ground, she was given a reprieve by the umpires. It felt like she could lead England home.Yadav is just five feet one and is considered one of the hardest bowlers to hit. It is nearly impossible to hit a boundary with her fast and high deliveries.England failed to rotate the strike, something they are known for. Sciver was left behind at 19 and England fell on their face.Dunkley impressed with her maturity in her Test debut and she did the same here. She was a complete player and chose the moments she wanted to unleash.Her maiden ODI 50-century was from 62 balls. She played the senior role with Brunt, a 127-cap veteran.Cross seizes her chanceCross was once viewed as a match bowler for Test matches, but has struggled to get a spot in the England ODI team that includes Brunt and Anya Shrubsole.She bowled well on a great batting deck and showed a level of skill that was unmatched by the senior bowlers.India started strongly and raced to 56-0 in the 11 first overs. Cross was not introduced until then. Smriti Mandhana's fifth delivery was her best, with Smriti Mandhana trying desperately to cut the ball but instead she edging it into her stumps.India attempted to slow the pace with her wickets. Jemimah Rodrigues was caught with Harmanpreet after she had lifted the ball in the air. Cross held Harmanpreet well in her follow-through before Deepti Sharma crashed Dunkley's delivery at deep mid-wicket.Cross was joined by her teammates to celebrate Sneh Rana's fifth wicket. Heather Knight juggled it."I almost cried. It will mean everything to her," Alex Hartley (Test Match Special commentator, host of No Balls podcast, Cross), said."She has been involved in and out of the ODI side for a long time and has had to learn to adapt."I am so, very happy for her."India's innings was similar to the first match. Raj anchoring the innings at a steady pace before Amy Jones gave way to a brilliant, off-balance run out.They were able to complete their 50-over run - a significant improvement over Bristol - and they were especially aggressive against Brunt who conceded 55 runs in her 10 overs to put up a total that was almost enough."Dunkley is the real deal" - What they saidHeather Knight, England captain: "The pleasant thing about us as a team was that we were tested today. I think that's really good for our development side by side."It was a great game of cricket, and we were able to keep our composure. That partnership was exceptional."Alex Hartley, England World Cup winner on TMS: "Sophia Dunkley the real deal. She is at home in international cricket. She scored 70 on her Test debut as well as her ODI batting debut.Harmanpreet Kaur, India's stand-in captain: "I think our bowlers did an excellent job. Although it wasn't an easy total to defend, I was proud of the way we bowled."We felt that 221 was not a winning total. We need to get scores higher than 250, but we know that our bowlers can win games. We fought hard, even though it wasn't a winning score.
