Whatever pretensions Indian women had of having overcome their tendency to crack under pressure against strong opponents lay shattered after their demoralising T20I series loss 1-2 at home by England.

India, however, did not put a foot wrong in the third and final T20I on Sunday but came unstuck chasing modest targets in the first two matches of the limited-overs series. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. were expected to struggle against England’s potent and varied spin attack but they faced an even bigger problem in the form of their own batting vulnerabilities. While their bowling unit has found a way to be competitive, their batting frailties show no sign of abating.