| Women’s World Cup, Tauranga |
|---|
| India 134 total (36.2 overs): Mandhana 35, Dean 4-23, Bush 2-20 |
| England 136-6 (31.2 overs): Knight 53*, Sciver 45, Meghna 3-22 |
| England won by four wickets |
| Scorekeeper. Desk |
Rejuvenated England brought their World Cup defense to life with a four-wicket hammering of India at Mount Maunganui.
The champions transformed from the error-plagued team in three previous losses, taking every catch and notching two runs from direct hits to beat India by 134.
Outsider Charlie Dean, in only her second World Cup match, claimed 4-23, while Anya Shrubsole became just the sixth England woman to reach 100 one-day international wickets in her 2-20.
In a nervous start to the chase, England went down to 4-2, while Nat Sciver survived having the ball hit his stumps without his bails going out.
Sciver went on to make 45, while captain Heather Knight went unbeaten on 53 as the chase was completed with more than 18 overs to spare.
Recording their first win, England move up to sixth in the table, just two points behind third-placed India, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.
However, they cannot afford another slip-up and face yet another must-win situation when they take on hosts New Zealand in Auckland on Sunday (22:00 GMT, Saturday).
India, which appears to be in a fight with England, New Zealand and the West Indies for two semi-final places, will take on tournament favorites Australia on Saturday (01:00 GMT).
| Bowlers have taken over 100 ODI wickets for England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bowler | windows | Average |
| K Brunt | 164 | 23.92 |
| j gunn | 136 | 28.10 |
| marsh | 129 | 26.84 |
| Taylor C. | 102 | 23.95 |
| I guha | 101 | 23.21 |
| A bush sole | 101 | 26.75 |
Energized England recovers
Just as there was no explanation for the widths, missed receptions and fielding errors in the losses to the West Indies and South Africa, it’s hard to know why England were an entirely different team against India, the team they beat in the thrilling final. of 2017.
Indeed, on the day between this game and the dismal loss to South Africa, neither XI trained, but England arrived looking refreshed, relaxed and full of energy.
An indication of what was to come came from the very first ball, when Sciver’s shot narrowly missed the Smriti Mandhana. From then on, everything went the way of England.
Shrubsole bowled an excellent bowling for Yastika Bhatia to play on and captain Mithali Raj caught on point, before Kate Cross’s direct strike from the middle was responsible for Deepti Sharma.
When Dean, who bowled with fly, lean and control, caught Harmanpreet Kaur and Sneh Rana in their first over, India was 61-5.
While Mandhana remained, India was dangerous, but a missed sweep on Sophie Ecclestone brought her lbw down to 35.
Although Richa Ghosh, made 35, adding 37 with Jhulan Goswami, both fell in the same cross over. First, Ghosh was eliminated by Sciver’s swoop and drop from mid-wicket, then Goswami cut to the point.
Dean took the last wicket again, bowling to Meghna Singh for her best figures in an ODI.
- Relive the best moments of England’s victory as they happened
Sciver’s luck indicates a change of fortune in England
England might not only have had a change of perspective, but also a change of fortune.
Facing some excellent swing bowling from Meghna and Goswami, England saw Danni Wyatt well supported by Rana and Tammy Beaumont caught lbw at review.
Then came an extraordinary moment of fortune for Sciver, a direct contrast to the defeat in South Africa, when she was unlucky enough to be blindsided.
This time, when he was only four and with Goswami bowling, Sciver got stuck, only for the ball to roll onto the center stump. Unbelievably, the bail bonds remained stationary.
Pardoned, Sciver hit with power and authority before giving Pooja Vastrakar a lead, leaving Knight to show off her first half-century of the tournament.
Although it was sloppy on England’s part to lose three wickets for 22 runs, Knight remained a reassuring presence and snapped a six-match winless streak.
England remain in a dangerous position but head into the meeting with New Zealand still as contenders to win the World Cup.
‘I was not expecting this’
England player Charlie Dean, who was named man of the match: “I don’t think I expected this at the beginning of the game, so I’m very happy.
“We’ve shown a lot of fight as a team to come back from some disappointing games and show what we can do. Very happy.”
“I just tried to keep it simple, throw as close to the stumps as possible and trust my best ball.”
England captain Heather Knight: “A little bit of relief, to be honest. I think we needed it. It was a bit rudimentary and we lost a few more wickets than we’d like, but crossing the line is really good for us and hopefully.” the beginning of a change in momentum”.
Former England spinner Alex Hartley in Test Match Special: “India know they underperformed but England will breathe a huge sigh of relief. They were brilliant today, the England team we all know and love. They played fantastic.”
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