CHENNAI: When Deepti Sharma was batting with Smriti Mandhana, it seemed like India were on course to complete what would have been their highest WODI chase. India were 233/3 after 41 overs, needing 56 runs from 52 balls. Mandhana was on 88 from 93 balls while Deepti had already cruised to 35 from 38 balls.
Then, out of no where, Mandhana blinked. In an attempt to take on Linsey Smith, she found the fielder in the deep on the second ball of the 42nd over. Soon, panic set in. With a batter short, Richa Ghosh fell shortly after with Deepti following her to the dugout. It came down to 23 runs from 12 balls and India eventually fell short by four runs.
It was yet another story of taking the game deep before choking at the death and letting the contest slip through the hands. It did not matter that Harmanpreet Kaur, Mandhana and Deepti scored fifties. Nor did it matter that Deepti, at this point, is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament (she took four more wickets on Sunday to help India restrict England to 288). What mattered in the end, when Sophie Ecclestone delivered the final delivery, was that India had lost three matches on the trot and now will have to win the remaining two games to qualify without having to worry about permutations and combinations.
Coming into the contest, they knew it was a good batting surface, and that they needed a win to avoid going into a pressure situation. For England, the night couldn't have ended in a better manner as, with the win, England sealed a spot in the semifinals. For India, who face New Zealand next, it becomes a virtual quarterfinal clash, assuming that they go on to beat Bangladesh in their final league game. With three days to go for the clash in Navi Mumbai, India will have to regroup and figure out what is the best way forward.
Earlier, both Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones, who had struggled to get going in this tournament, had no trouble negating Renuka Sharma, who came in place of Jemimah Rodrigues. There were half chances and a missed LBW, but barring that, the openers looked at ease as England got to 73 runs in the 16th over.
Both seamers could not make inroads, and neither could Sneh Rana. As a result, India were forced to introduce Deepti earlier than they usually do. And she struck in her very first over. The offie bowled full and on leg-stump, sneaking one under Beaumont's attempted sweep to castle her. Shortly after, she removed Jones but Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt were not going to give in. The former England captain was impeccable with her sweeps and reverse sweeps against the Indian spin trio with the current skipper playing second fiddle. They added 103 runs in 17.4 overs before Sciver-Brunt fell. Knight did not stop there as she cruised to her third ODI century with ease while trying to take England past 300-run mark.
However, once Knight was run out for 109 from 91 — perhaps her second best innings of the tournament after the fifty that took England home against Bangladesh — India bounced back. Once again, it was Deepti who led from the front with the ball. NR Sree Charani got rid of Sophia Dunkley, but Deepti ran through the lower middle-order, dismissing Emma Lamb and Alice Capsey in quick succession. Her spell (4/51) in the death meant England lost five wickets for 39 runs in the last 34 balls. However, it proved to be enough for England.
Brief Scores: England 288/8 in 50 ovs (Heather Knight 109, Amy Jones 56; Deepti Sharma 4/51, Shree Charani 2/68) bt India 284/6 in 50 overs (Smriti Mandhana 88, Harmanpreet Kaur 70, Deepti Sharma 50; Nat Sciver-Brunt 2/47).
