India lost by four runs to England, their third straight loss, after wasting a position of control to ruin their chase in the Women’s World Cup in Indore on Sunday.
India were on course of victory, chasing 289 to win, but they lost important wickets even though experienced players Smriti Mandhana (88), Harmanpreet Kaur (70), and Deepti Sharma (50) all hit fifties.
India needed 14 of the last over after needing 55 runs from 53 balls, but England held their composure as Sneh Rana and Amanjot Kaur were unable to get the hosts over the finish line.
This came after Heather Knight’s (109) magnificent century helped limit England to 288 for 8 thanks to a remarkable spell from veteran off-spinner Deepti (4/51).
With the victory, England became the third team to advance to the round of four, and India now needs to win their final two games to guarantee the final semifinal spot.
Before forming a 67-run partnership with Deepti, Mandhana first put up a vital 125-run partnership with captain Kaur. Deepti took over after she was out with a fifty of her own, but just when it appeared like she would be able to play out to the end, she threw away her wicket as England also removed the threatening Richa Ghosh.
Mandhana scored a calm, hard-fought half-century for the second time in a row, and Kaur, who had lost her spark for a large portion of the tournament, found it again with a run-a-ball 70 that exuded authority and desire.
Despite having a rough start and even suffering from cramps, Mandhana displayed remarkable focus and poise throughout her 94-ball innings. She began her batting in an aggressive manner, almost pulling one onto her stumps.
Harleen Deol (24) took over as the aggressor after Pratika Rawal fell early, giving Mandhana some time to calm down. Only in the fourteenth over did she score her first boundary, but as she settled into a rhythm, she grew more fluent.
Mandhana and Kaur played well together, rotating the strike to put pressure on England’s spinners and get India out of a precarious situation. India needed to score 164 runs off of 150 balls at the halfway stage of the innings.
Both deliberately targeted Sophie Ecclestone, the No. 1 spinner in the world, hitting her for boundaries at pivotal moments.
Kaur specifically targeted Nat Sciver-Brunt, her counterpart, and hit her for five fours. However, Emma Lamb caught Kaur when the English skipper bowled a back of a length delivery outside off.
The always dependable Heather Knight had earlier asserted her dominance with a brilliant century before off-spinner Deepti Sharma, came roaring back to restrict England to 288 for 8.
Knight demonstrated her ability to sweep in her 300th international match, hitting 15 boundaries and a six in her 91-ball innings to record her third ODI century and highest-ever WODI score.
When India needed a breakthrough, captain Harmanpreet Kaur would turn to the reliable off-spinner Deepti, who was the team’s standout bowler. She finished with her best-ever ODI World Cup stats of 4/51.
Ironically, Deepti was held back until the sixteenth over by the captain. Before accounting for half-centurion Amy Jones (56), Deepti deceived Tammy Beaumont (22) to earn her 150th scalp. At the conclusion of the innings, she also contributed to a mini-batting collapse that dismissed Alice Capsey (2) and Emma Lamb (11).
With a fantastic strike rotation, former captain Knight and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt (38) put together a 113-run partnership off 106 deliveries that severely hurt India.
This followed after openers Jones (56 off 68 balls) and Beaumont, who stitched a 77-run opening stand, successfully played the first 10 overs for the first time this tournament.
However, the England batting collapsed under pressure as left-arm spinner Sree Charani (2/68) had Sciver-Brunt out against the run of play after Harmanpreet successfully leaped to retrieve the ball over her head.
To make matters worse, Knight was run out in the 45th over by Sneh Rana. After that, India dominated England, exposing their middle order weaknesses once more as they lost 5 wickets in the final 10 overs.
