Harmanpreet Kaur century guides India to series victory

The tourists took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series ahead of the finale at Lord's on Saturday

Canterbury: India 333-5, England 245 - India win by 88 runs

Scorecard

India comprehensively beat England at Canterbury to secure an ODI series win, led by a century from captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who put the hosts' young bowling attack to the sword on a cool, autumnal afternoon.

Kaur went from 100 to 143 in just 11 deliveries after bringing up an effortless ton, with England – who won the toss and elected to field – powerless to stop her hitting, which was never more watchable than when she gave herself room to loft sixes over cover towards the block of flats on the Old Dover Road.

India were in the ascendancy throughout, profiting from a poor first over from Lauren Bell that set the tone for an English bowling display including 24 wides. Shafali Verma fell cheaply for the second game in succession, cleaned up by Kate Cross, but that was as close to a foothold as England – captained for the time being by Amy Jones – ever managed.

Smriti Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia both looked primed for big scores, only for Bhatia to smash a catch back at Charlie Dean and Mandhana to miss a slog-sweep against Sophie Ecclestone. That wicket brought together Kaur and Harleen Deol, who added 113 runs in 20 overs.

Deol was slightly more circumspect than her skipper, but both passed fifty within minutes of each other, and Kaur reached three figures in exactly 100 balls. Deol, meanwhile, gave Bell a wicket with exactly 10 overs remaining, in which time India added 121 runs. It meant Bell claiming the most expensive figures for an England bowler in ODIs, only for Freya Kemp to usurp her a matter of minutes later as Kaur tucked into some abject death bowling.

India finished 333 for 5, the second-highest score conceded by England in ODIs and the second-highest made by India.

^{Harmanpreet Kaur was at her best for India (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)}

The home side began their response in the worst possible manner, with Tammy Beaumont – playing on her home ground – run out after Kaur, enjoying a fantastic personal day, threw down the stumps from mid-on. Sophia Dunkley fell two overs later, missing with a violent hack across the line to leave England 12 for 2.

Thereafter, Alice Capsey launched a fightback – first with Emma Lamb, who was adjudged lbw despite appearing to be struck outside the line, and then with Danni Wyatt, who was at the crease far earlier than England would have wanted. Whether Lamb wanted to review the decision was unclear, but the DRS technology had spent a large portion of the day out of action, so it might have been a moot point in any case.

The latter stand added 55 runs in nine overs, before Capsey – who spent most of India's innings off the field with a finger injury – holed out to mid-off to give Deepti Sharma a wicket. Capsey, in her second ODI, made 39.

Wyatt and stand-in captain Jones gave England hope, taking them to 167 for 4, but the former was yorked by Renuka Thakur, who had already cleaned up Dunkley and accounted for Lamb. Six balls later, Jones was stumped and the game was up as a contest. Ecclestone, who conceded 60 runs in an ODI for just the third time, pulled to deep square leg, Kemp was run out and Cross was trapped in front by Verma, exacting her revenge for her earlier dismissal.

Dean, England's best player on the day, dug in to make 37 but she was last out to confirm India's series win.