India vs England: I like playing in pressure situations, says Deepti Sharma

HOVE: India all-rounder Deepti Sharma likes playing in pressure situations as she has learned the art of reading and assessing the situations in international cricket.

Deepti, the Player of the Match in the second T20I against England on Sunday, sparked a collapse which helped India stage a comeback in the series.

A late comeback by the spinners comprising Poonam Yadav, Sneh Rana, and Deepti helped India defeat England by eight runs in the second T20I of the three-match series here at the County Ground, Hove on Sunday.

"I like playing in pressure situations be it during batting, bowling, or fielding. As an all-rounder, I always think of giving my best to the team. Of course, I like to lead the team from the front like in domestic cricket I play as a senior player, and winning matches gives me confidence," Deepti said in the post match press conference.

"That confidence when you bank upon during international games helps you win matches. I feel I have learned how to read the position and situation so I find it easy now while playing for India," she added.

Put in to bat first, Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur played knocks of 48 and 31 respectively as India posted 148/4 in the allotted twenty overs.

Deepti said India were looking to score a little above 160 but 148 in 20 overs.

"We got a good start so we're looking to score 160-165 but 148 wasn't that bad as we knew we were going to bowl in tandem," said Deepti.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur scored 31 off 25 balls after a string of poor shows with the bat. Talking about her partnership with Harmanpreet, Deepti said," Hitting a six off a boundary obviously gives you the confidence. My aim was to play the same as Harmanpreet and give her the strike more often.

In the 14th over, England lost two wickets as India staged a comeback in the game to clinch the match.

"Heather Knight's wicket was crucial set batters were on the crease (Beaumont and Heather Knight). That run out of Knight was important as from there on we pulled back the game," said Deepti.

India and England will next lock horns in the third and final T20I on Wednesday.