England opener Tammy Beaumont top-scored with 40; Ireland recovered after losing their first wicket to the fourth ball with efforts from Orla Prendergast (80) and Leah Paul (27no) who helped lead their side to victory; England beat the hosts by 67 runs in the first T20 match on Saturday
Sunday 15 September 2024 19:08, UK
Orla Prendergast hit a brilliant 80 to take Ireland to the brink of victory before the hosts overcame a late fightback from England's bowlers to clinch a five-wicket victory in the second T20 and draw the series 1-1 in Dublin.
Ireland needed 18 runs from the final two overs with Prendergast hitting back-to-back boundaries off England captain Kate Cross (2-29) before she was bowled.
Chasing 170 for a first T20 victory over England, Sarah Forbes (4) continued the attack by launching her first delivery over extra cover for four but was then bowled by Mady Villiers (2-31) with the hosts needing two runs from the same number of balls.
Villiers bowled Ava Canning (0) for a golden duck to put the pressure back on Ireland before Christina Coulter-Reilly (2no) hit a single and an overthrow from England allowed her to come back for the second run and secure their victory with a ball to spare.
It is Ireland's highest successful chase in a T20 match.
England's top order did well after being inserted to bat with opener Tammy Beaumont (40) sharing a 59-run partnership with Paige Scholfield (34), while Georgia Adams added 23 and Bryony Smith smashed 28 as they posted 169-8.
Ireland's all-rounder Prendergast (2-31), Arlene Kelly (2-22) and Aimee Maguire (2-32) all took two wickets apiece.
The hosts reduced England to 64-2 after Smith and Seren Smale (10) were caught at mid-off but Beaumont and Scholfield helped their side recover with their third-wicket stand.
Kelly removed Beaumont after she holed out to long on where Reilly took a comfortable catch to initiate a middle-order collapse that saw England lose three wickets for 14 runs.
Prendergast bowled Hollie Armitage (0) for a golden duck and then took the wicket of Georgia Adams (23) to bring England's bowlers to the crease.
Charis Pavely (8) and Izzy Wong (6) were both run out in the final over by Leah Paul and Freya Sargent respectively to leave England on 169-8.
In reply, Ireland looked in trouble when their opener Amy Hunter (1) was caught by Hollie Armitage off Cross for just one in the first over.
However, a fantastic 82-run partnership between Prendergast and Paul helped them recover to the brink of victory.
The hosts required six runs from their last five balls but when Villiers dismissed Forbes and Canning in successive deliveries, England were back in the hunt.
Reilly hit a single off the penultimate ball and Villiers missed a run-out chance with an overthrow that allowed Ireland to sneak through for the winning run.
England were hunting for a series clean sweep over Ireland in the multi-format white-ball series but were denied the chance by the resurgent hosts.
In the ODI series preceding this, Ireland beat the tourists for the first time since 2001 in the second match to finish with a 2-1 defeat.
The 2024 Women's T20 World Cup takes place from October 3-20 in the United Arab Emirates, live on Sky Sports, with England targeting a first trophy since the inaugural edition in 2009.
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