Skipper Mithali Raj’s half-century went in vain as England women rode on aggressive unbeaten fifties from Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver to beat India Women by eight wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series in Bristol on Sunday (June) . 27). Mithali went ahead with the 72nd patient to reach a modest 201 for eight after India’s women were called to bat. Mithali put India’s innings together after two early dismissals. She shared two important partnerships – 56 with Poonam Raut (32) and 65 with Deepti Sharma (30) – to help India cross the 200-run mark.
But England women’s opener Beaumont (87 not out off 87 balls) and Sciver’s (74 off 74) made an unbroken 119-run partnership to get home with 91 balls to spare, which came in just 19 overs. England lost Lauren Windfield-Hill (16) early in their chase, but Beaumont and captain Heather Knight (18) put on a 59-run second wicket stand to put the hosts back on track.
But Knight fell victim to a lovely delivery from left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht (1/55), which turned out to be enough after the England skipper banged the bat and pitched to disturb the rhythm.
However, Sciver didn’t let Bisht calm down as he pulled the bowler straight for two boundaries in the spinner’s next over.
Beaumont continued his attacking intent and brought up his half-century in 48 balls by driving Deepti Sharma to the square-leg boundary. The Indians had a great chance to make a comeback in the match but Bisht dropped Sciver to short fine leg in the 20th over of Harmanpreet Kaur’s opening over.
The Indians lacked discipline in both fielding and bowling as pacer Shikha Pandey bowled two consecutive no-balls in the 28th over, the second of which Sciver hit a boundary near mid-on. From there, it was a lost cause for the visitors as Beaumont and Sciver found boundaries to take England home with consummate ease, reaching 202 for eight in 34.5 overs.
what was this shot @natsciver Today! #Engwind pic.twitter.com/K8jAQavwi4
— england cricket (@englandcricket) June 27, 2021
Earlier, India’s start was not impressive as the visitors lost both the openers cheaply. Touted as the next big thing in Indian women’s cricket, teen sensation Shafali Verma’s much-awaited ODI debut lasted just 14 balls, in which she scored 15 runs with the help of three fours.
On Sunday, Shafali, who became the youngest Indian cricketer to make her all-format debut, looked for several big shots off Katherine Brunt (2/35) off Katherine Brunt (2/35) at mid-on in the fifth over. I lost my life. Smriti Mandhana (10) soon followed when Shrubsole (2/33) defended herself before Poonam and Mithali revived the innings.
After getting out early, both Poonam and Mithali played cautiously but did not hesitate to punish bad balls. When the partnership began to flourish, Poonam swung a simple catch to Sophie Ecclestone off Kate Cross.
India’s vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s (1) poor form continued as she did not bother the scorer much, dodging Amy Jones off Ecclestone (3/40). It was a struggle in the early stages for Mithali, a veteran campaigner. Scoring his fifty in 95 balls with a boundary off Shrubsole, he barely got a boundary.
With Deepti, Mithali then added 65 runs for the fifth wicket, lbw to Shrubsole, before the former was dismissed. But soon after Deepti was dismissed, Mithali switched gears and hit three boundaries in an over, cutting Shrubsole to 15 in the 44th over.
Just when Mithali looked dangerous, she was dismissed by Ecclestone in the 46th over as India rolled down to 180 for 6. Shikha Pandey (3) and Jhulan Goswami (1) remained unbeaten and helped India cross the 200-run mark.
(with PTI input)
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