Putting up a superb bowling performance, England successfully defended 151/7 by beating India at St George’s Park in Gqeberha and moving a big step closer to a semi-final spot at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Smriti Mandhana scored a sublime half-century to put India in a decent position in the chase. But the rate of scoring slowed through the middle overs as England’s spinners took control of the game, with Sophie Ecclestone the stand-out bowler once again, picking up 1/14 from her four overs and strangling India’s batters at a crucial point of the match. Mandhana’s 52 from 41 was the top score in the reply, with Richa Ghosh finishing unbeaten on 47* from 34.
But only one other Indian batter reached double figures as they fell 11 runs short of the target.
Earlier, it was India who won the toss and opted to bowl first, and Harmanpreet Kaur’s side made a superb start with the ball in Gqeberha. The brilliance of Thakur did the damage, with the strike bowler removing all of England’s top three inside the Powerplay.
Danni Wyatt was the first to go, edging behind and brilliantly caught by Richa Ghosh for a golden duck. The score was 37/3 by the end of the Powerplay, with England relying on Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight to lead the recovery. And they did just that, putting on 51 runs through the middle overs before Knight was caught at mid-off.
Such was the quality of England’s rebuilding job, that 150 was still on the cards when Sciver-Brunt reached a superb half-century. And fine contributions from Amy Jones (40 from 27) and Sophie Ecclestone (11 from 8) continued the flow of runs as England reached 151/7 at the end of their full 20 overs.
Thakur had returned to bowl the final over, and her dismissals of Jones and Katherine Sciver-Brunt saw her finish with sensational figures of 5/15 – the best by an Indian bowler at a Women’s T20 World Cup. But the brilliance of England’s recovery proved sufficient to deny India, with the bowlers completing the job.
India will look to bounce back in their next T20 World Cup game against Ireland.
