Welcome to the highlights of the 1st ODI match between the women’s teams of India and England at the County Ground in Hove.
IND 232/3 in 44.2 overs: Beaumont gives her everything into the dive but fails to drag the ball back. It is a boundary and India is a hit short of a huge win. And that’ll be it... Harmanpreet gets India across the finish with a six! The visitor take the first match by seven wickets.
IND 220/3 after 43 overs: Harmanpreet gets her fifty. This is her 17th ODI half-century. Up and above, Harmanpreet shimmies down and clears the infield with considerable ease. Four! Lamb saves her bowler three runs with an excellent one-handed stop at point. Cracker of a shot again! This time, Harmanpreet’s gone exploring the mid-off region. England goes upstairs after Harmanpreet is adjudged not out. The ball tracker shows it would have gone on to miss the wickets.
IND 204/3 after 40 overs: 200 up for India with a single from Harmanpreet! Another episode of hesitation while running between the wickets from the Indian batters. It’s given! Ecclestone has trapped Harleen in front. India, with a couple of reviews in the kitty, takes one. UltraEdge shows there was a bit of feather and Harleen survives. A late call from the captain again and a direct hit would have seen Harleen out of the frame.
IND 198/3 after 37 overs: Wong is getting the ball to swing back into the right-hander. Mandhana takes the aerial route. She doesn’t get much wood behind that shot but it lands safely. Wham! That is perhaps the shot of the day. Mandhana steps out and goes all the way over the bowler’s head. SIX. Harmanpreet moves to 45 with a glorious cover drive for four. Mandhana falls for 91! So close, yet so far... Plays across the line, gets a top edge as Davidson-Richards settles comfortably underneath. Harleen Deol, who had lost her place in the squad ahead of the World Cup, walks in. There is a bit of fumble as Harleen charges towards the striker’s end. She lets out a sheepish smile.
IND 179/2 after 34 overs: A brilliant dive by Capsey near the ropes saves precious runs. Her efforts are cheered on by a raucous crowd in Hove. However, she ends up undoing the good work, minutes later, when an ordinary attempt near the legside boundary sees the ball slip past her. The target’s now less than 50 away.
IND 161/2 after 31 overs: Pressure’s on Cross, who starts off with two wides. England has finally made the switch to pace. Harmanpreet misses the paddle sweep but follows it up with a boundary off the next ball. Davidson-Richards returns. Harmanpreet pulls one through midwicket but this will just be a single. A better over from England, the 30th; just four runs off it. Harmanpreet fails to get a run off the first five balls of Cross’ over but the last one runs down to the fence.
IND 146/2 after 28 overs: The target is now less than 100 away. Harmanpreet shuffles and steers Lamb through the third man region for four. England should look to throw in a few short balls in the mix to unsettle the India batters. The required rate is only 3.9 an over now. Mandhana and Harmanpreet steal a single, courtesy of a misfield from Lamb in the point region. Crafty! Four more for Mandhana as Lamb strays wide down leg. The Sangli smasher just helps it on its way.
IND 127/2 after 25 overs: Beaumont stops an elegant cover drive from Mandhana from racing away to the fence. Lamb into the attack. Gets away with a poor delivery - the ball gets stuck in her hand during the release... it drops so short that Mandhana isn’t able to get underneath. Harmanpreet sweeps Ecclestone to deep backward square; this is the second time this has happened today. The Indians look to be in no hurry.
IND 116/2 after 22 overs: Mandhana takes a single to start off the 20th over. Harmanpreet, not looking to play a rash shot, plays out Dean’s over. Mandhana puts on her dancing shoes but mistimes a shot to sweeper cover. She heaves a sigh of relief as the ball falls short of the fielder. Mandhana reaches her fifty - 24th in ODIs - in style! Gets to the pitch of the delivery and drills this down the ground.
IND 104/2 after 19 overs: Yastika charges down the track, looking for the glory shot to get to her fifty. She misses and an edge misses the leg stump by a whisker. A lucky boundary sees her bring up her fourth half-century in 17 ODIs. WICKET! Dean cleans Yastika up. She had been looking fidgety for a while now. Harmanpreet walks out into the middle. India has just gone past three digits.
IND 90/1 after 16 overs: The game resumes after the drinks break. Charlotte Dean pitches a slower one outside off and it will be easy pickings for Mandhana. The elegant left-handed batter glances it away to the rope. India cruising along at this point, England desperately in search of a breakthrough.
IND 78/1 after 13 overs: India is off to a solid start with the partnership growing with each delivery. Yastika is approaching her half-century while Smriti has dropped anchor. The last overs have yielded 32 runs and India is cruising at the moment in the chase. The required run rate is 4.05 while the current is 5.92 rpo. That speaks of how both the batswomen have dominated the chase. Top stuff.
IND 59/1 in 10 overs: India will be pleased with the efforts of Smriti and Yastika as it ends the Powerplay on a bright note. The fifty-run partnership between the two is up and both batswomen are looking in great shape in the middle. England went for a review as Cross felt she trapped Yastika but the ball was going down the leg side.
IND-W 41/1 after 7 overs: Smriti Mandhana is playing some gorgeous drives through the off-side with a sumptuous drill through the covers and has given India a good start in chase of 228. Yastika is also playing her shots and India has recovered after the early fall of Shafali Verma. Both batswomen are looking solid in the middle.
IND-W 20/1 after 4 overs: Smriti Mandhana gets going with back-to-back boundaries as Yastika Bhatia, too, opens her account. A cut towards point and a lovely drive through the covers helps India gain some relief after the early loss of Shafali Verma.
IND-W 4/1 after 2 overs: Early blow for India as opener Shafali Verma falls and it’s Charlotte Dean with the wicket. England needed an early wicket after posting 227 runs and it fished out the dangerous Verma. Yastika Bhatia joins Smriti Mandhana. and the duo has to build a partnership.
End of Innings: ENG-W 227/7 in 50 overs: What a knock from Alice Davidson Richards, who scored an unbeaten 50 off 61 balls and powered England to a competitive total of 227/7 on a track that aids spinners, with the ball keeping low. The Indian bowlers did well but leaked runs at the death. While Deepti Sharma took two wickets, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sneh Rana and Harleen Deol picked a wicket each. India needs a good start to gun down the total and it will depend on the openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. Back for the chase in a while.
ENG-W 202/7 after 47 overs: Richards and Charlotte Dean have taken England past the 200-run mark and England will take a score around 220-230 given the slump they suffered in the middle, with six wickets down for 128. Top spell from Jhulan Goswami as she finishes with excellent figures of 10-2-20-1.
ENG-W 179/7 after 43 overs: Deepti Sharma breaks the 50-run stand between Ecclestone and Richards and it’s an important wicket for the Indians. The ball hits Ecclestone’s back pad and England took the review but there was no bat involved. Second wicket for Deepti but this has been a very useful stand for England.
ENG-W 167/6 after 41 overs: The 160 is up for England and the partnership between Ecclestone and Richards is now 38 off just 46 deliveries. India has to break this partnership and restrict England to less than 200. There is turn and low bounce and going by the looks of it, it promises to be a low-scoring thriller.
ENG 143/6 after 37 overs: Alice Davidson and Sophie Ecclestone are adding some valuable runs and India must be careful not to let the batswomen harm them with the bat at the death. The score is not high but it’s important to wrap up the England batting to as low a total as possible.
ENG-W 128/6 after 34 overs: Wyatt falls and it’s the experienced Deepti Sharma who strikes to give India the breakthrough. She was batting well, holding the England innings but Wyatt couldn’t resist the temptation of going for the sweep shot, only to miss the ball and lose her wicket. England in trouble.
ENG-W 111/5 after 30 overs: Danielle Wyatt and Alice Richards have forged a partnership but India is trying to further make inroads. Medium pacer Meghna Singh returns to the attack along with Sneh Rana but Wyatt is playing a very crucial knock. She has picked Meghna’s slower ones and dispatched the bowler to the boundary twice. Wyatt holds the key for England.
ENG-W 94/5 after 27 overs: There is spin and low bounce as Amy Jones has been knocked out by Gayakwad. The ball after keeping low hit Jones’ pads, and deflected off it to disturb the stumps. England is five down and the spin trio of Gayakwad, Deol and Rana have put India on top.
ENG-W 91/4 after 25 overs: A wicket at the right time as Harleen Deol strikes to dismiss Dunkley. Harleen has been tossing the ball up, inviting the batswoman to go for big shots but Dunkley failed to clear Deepti Sharma at the cover region. Good catch by Deepti and England is four down.
ENG-W 79/3 after 22 overs: Sophia Dunkley took an excellent review after she was adjudged leg before. The ball brushed her gloves and there was a clear spike on the Ultra. Gayakwad and the Indian team were happy for a brief while but Dunkley survived, much to England’s respite.
ENG-W 74/3 after 21 overs: Deepti Sharma has been introduced into the attack and England batswomen Sophia Dunkley and Danielle Wyatt have a job in their hands. An important session of play for both teams as India can’t afford to relax as wickets will be the key. England meanwhile is in the rebuilding process.
ENG-W 678/3 after 18 overs: Capsey has fallen to the spin of Sneh Rana and a well-set England batswoman departs. Top catch by Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at mid-wicket and India has broken the partnership. Danielle Wyatt comes to the crease but India will look to pick a couple more to take full control.
ENG-W 43/2 after 13 overs: Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey have broken away from the shackles and with Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Pooja Vastrakar in operation. Capsey produced two excellent shots, driving on the up as Vastrakar erred in length, bowling toss full. Dunkley, meanwhile, skipped down the track to deposit Gayakwad to the mid-off boundary. England is on the charge.
ENG-W 26/2 after 10 overs: Jhulan strikes and she has got the prized wicket of Beaumont to leave England two down. A peach of an inswinger and Beaumont plays all over it and the Indians are ecstatic. The batswoman decides not to review it and that’s a wise call. India with two important wickets has things under control.
ENG-W 21/1 after 8 overs: Meghna strikes to remove Lamb and she has given India an early breakthrough, an important one. Yastika Bhatia missed a stuming off Jhulan when she was standing up, but this time she doesn’t make any mistake as she goes back to her original position and takes a neat catch. Meghna digs in a short one, Lamb goes for the pull only to manage an edge to the keeper.
ENG-W 14/0 after 5 overs: Slow start from the England openers and both Lamb and Beaumont have been watchful, especially against Jhulan. The veteran India pacer has been excellent with the new ball and India believes an early breakthrough is just round the corner.
ENG-W 5/0 after 2 overs: Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont have opened the innings with Jhulan Goswami starting the proceedings for India with the new ball. She has Megha Singh for company and Jhulan has already found a hint of swing.
Right then, we are done and dusted with the national anthems and it’s time for the action to unfold.
Playing XI
India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia(w), Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Meghna Singh
England Women: Emma Lamb, Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Danielle Wyatt, Amy Jones (w/c), Alice Davidson Richards, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlotte Dean, Kate Cross, Issy Wong
Match Preview
After an ordinary showing in the shortest format, the Indian women’s cricket team will have to drastically lift its game in all departments and give a fitting farewell to veteran Jhulan Goswami in the ODI series against England beginning on Sunday.
India got most things wrong in the T20 Internationals series which it lost 1-2, especially its batting and fielding. With England missing their three senior players, including injured skipper Heather Knight, it was a good chance for India to register a rare series win over England.
Their middle order issues have gone on for far too long and after three games in England, it remains far from being resolved. D Hemalatha was tried but she could not make much of an impact.
Though Jemimah Rodrigues has been named in the squad, questions remain over her fitness after she was ruled out of The Hundred due to injury.
After being dropped from the T20 squad, pressure will be on Yastika Bhatia to perform. While Smriti Mandhana and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur continue to hold the batting together, Shafali Verma needs to find consistency after three years in international cricket.
With Goswami retiring at the end of the three-match ODI series, the pace department also doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Renuka Singh has done well of late but the team still relies heavily on spinners to do the job even in overseas conditions.
Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma merit a place in the side. But, is going with three all-rounders and no specialist in a playing eleven the right option? The series is part of the ICC ODI Women’s Championship which will eventually decide the qualifiers for the 2025 World Cup.
In Knight’s absence, Amy Jones will continue to lead the England squad. Alice Capsesy and Freya Kemp, who impressed in the T20Is, have been handed their maiden call ups for the ODI series.
“It’s another big series, especially with points counting towards ICC Women’s World Cup qualification, and with the summer ending at Lord’s there’s a lot to be excited about,” head coach Lisa Keightley said in an ECB statement ahead of the series opener.
-PTI
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