ENG-W vs IND-W 2025: Nat Sciver-Brunt ruled out of third T20I, Tammy Beaumont to lead England for first time

England's time in the five-match T20I series against India is going from bad to worse as they will be missing the services of their regular captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, in the all-important third game, which will be played at Kennington Oval in London on Friday, July 4.

This is going to be a very crucial encounter, especially for England, as they are trailing 0-2 in the series. A win for India on Friday will give them an unassailable 3-0 lead, rendering the last two matches in the series effectively inconsequential.

Sciver-Brunt will not be able to play the third T20I after sustaining a left groin injury. The experienced campaigner is one of the finest seam-bowling all-rounders in world cricket. However, she did not bowl in the first two matches. With the bat, though, she slammed a valiant 66 runs off 42 balls in the first T20I, with her teammates contributing just 40 runs.

Tammy Beaumont to lead England for first time

In the absence of Sciver-Brunt, another seasoned campaigner, Tammy Beaumont is going to take charge. The Dover-born batter will be leading the England team for the first time in her career. Beaumont was dismissed for 10 runs in the first T20I, but bounced back strongly in the second game by top-scoring for England with a 54-run knock off 35 deliveries.

Beaumont, 34, has played 11 Tests, 129 ODIs, and 106 T20Is, amassing 612, 4487, and 1923 runs in the three formats, respectively.

India are in red-hot form in the series, having won the first T20I by 97 runs in Nottingham and the second in Bristol by 24 runs. The batting department has been prolific for the Women in Blue, as they have posted scores of 210/5 and 181/4 in the two games, respectively. Different players have stepped up for the tourists in the two games, and that will please the management and fans immensely. With a win on Friday, they will bag the series with two games to spare and also script history.