India Women lost the CWG 2022 final match to Australia by nine-runs at Edgbaston on Sunday (August 8), leaving fans with at heartbreak. However, despite the loss, India had its moments on the field.
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Young all-rounder Deepti Sharma won millions of hearts for her exceptional performance. The 24-year-old made headlines by plucking a one-handed catch to dismiss Australia’s Beth Mooney.
It was during the 18th over of the first innings that Sharma stunned the fans with her agile fielding skills. Mooney was a force to reckon with in the final as she carried Australia’s batting line-up. The 28-year-old hammered 61 runs off just 41 balls with the help of eight boundaries.
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Mooney’s wicket was crucial for the Indian team to restrict Australia and bring back momentum on their side. On the second ball of the 18th over, Mooney miss-timed a delivery by Sneh Rana towards deep mid-on. Deepti, who was standing inside the ring, dived backward to take a one-handed blinder.
The extraordinary effort by the Indian star made the crowd go berserk. The video of the catch is widely being shared on social media. Here’s a look at the catch:
What a catch from Deepti Sharma One handed catch 😳🤯
One word for this catch 💞#INDvsAUS #IndianCricketTeam pic.twitter.com/hdZ5Lav9bV— Honey Bae (@Honeybae44) August 7, 2022
While Deepti’s fielding skills were on point, she couldn’t make much difference with the bat and ball. The spinner took just one wicket of Tahlia McGrath while bowling at an economy rate of 7.5. With the bat, she scored only 13 runs before losing her wicket to Megan Schutt.
Australian skipper Meg Lanning won the toss and opted to bat first. Riding on the back of a sensational knock by Mooney, Australia ended up scoring 161 runs in 20 overs.
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Chasing the total, India were restricted to 152 runs. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur led from the front by smacking 65 runs off 43 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues also made good efforts with her knock of 33 runs. However, a collapse of the lower-middle batting order ended India’s dream of winning the gold medal.
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