Deepti Sharma played one of the best knocks of her career in what was turning out to be tricky run-chase at The Rose Bowl in Southampton as India took a 1-0 lead in three-match ODI series. Coming into bat at 124/4 in a run-chase of 259, Deepti struck an unbeaten 62 off 64 balls and stitched together a 90-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, who was once again impressive at No 5 for India. With a little help from Amanjot Kaur in the end, who played a handy cameo of 20 off 14 balls, India got home in 48.2 overs to open the series with an impressive win.
Earlier in the day, young seamer Kranti Goud impressed with two wickets upfront before Sophia Dunkley’s unbeaten 92-ball 83 lifted England to a respectable 258 for six after opting to bat first and being trouble before the halfway stage when the wicket of captain Nat Sciver-Brunt fell at 87/4.
Besides Goud (2/55 in 9 overs), off-spinner Sneh Rana (2/31 in 10 overs) too picked up two wickets to continue her good form since coming back into the ODI side (although the latter left the field with an apparent hamstring issue later on).
Alice Davidson-Richards contributed 53 in 73 balls during a 106-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Dunkley, which formed the nucleus of the England innings after they lost four wickets for 97 runs. Dunkley struck nine fours during her stay in the middle.
Asked to bowl first, India enjoyed early success as Goud dismissed Amy Jones with a stunning delivery for her first international wicket in her second ODI. It was an eventful over by the 21-year-old as she bowled a hat-trick of wides before making amends with one that nipped back sharply before hitting the top of the middle stump. The wobble seam kept the batter guessing as she leaned forward to defend, only to realise that the ball has crashed through the gate.
Just as England were looking to recover from the early blow, Goud struck for the second time, a lovely inswinger trapping opener Tammy Beaumont in front of the wicket. The on-field umpire was not convinced, but an Indian review clearly showed the ball hitting the top of middle stump.
At 20 for two in the fourth over, England needed a partnership and they got it through the in-form Emma Lamb and skipper Sciver-Brunt, the duo adding 71 runs to steady the ship. However, England lost both the set batters in the space of two overs with off-spinner Sneh Rana inflicting the damage on the home side by sending back Lamb (39 off 50 balls) and Sciver-Brunt (41 off 52 balls).
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The pressure got to Lamb as she hit one straight to mid-off after England failed to a get a boundary for five overs. As for Sciver-Brunt, she drove Rana uppishly for Jemimah Rodrigues to pull off an excellent catch. Dunkley and Alice then came to the home team’s rescue, but both were aided by dropped catches during their partnership, with Goud and Rodrigues putting down relatively easy chances that could have helped India restrict England to a much lower total.
Deepti goes big, and it sails all the way! 💪
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In the run-chase, Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal once against provided a good start (their partnership tally has now crossed 1000 runs in just 21 matches). But Mandhana’s dismissal brought about a slow-down as Pratika and Harleen Deol never quite found the top gear in their partnership. Then came a period where India first Rawal – Sophie Ecclestone producing a top delivery to breach her defence that also led to a spicy moment as the duo brushed shoulders. And after that Harleen was out in a bizarre fashion, failing to ground her bat or feet and finding herself short of the crease. Harmanpreet Kaur also quickly followed suit, but then came the match-defining partnership between Jemimah and Deepti that took India close to the finish line.
The highlight of Deepti’s knock was a six over midwicket, where she crunched one through the leg side for the only maximum of the match. She remained unbeaten after Richa Ghosh fell and along with Amanjot, took India home with 10 balls to spare.
(With PTI inputs)
