A game with a lot at stake, Heather Knight’s England side came all gun blazing against the mighty Indian lineup. Prior to the encounter, they had lost all three of their games and another loss would have seen them knocked out of the World Cup. However; they came, they commanded and they got the better of their opposition with any hiccup whatsoever.
After winning the toss, the reigning champions decided to send India into bat first. It proved to be a masterstroke as they dismissed the Indian side for a paltry 134 on the board. Led by a match-winning spell of 4 for 23 from Charlie Dean, England bowlers were at their very best and nullified India’s threat with the bat.
It was always going to be a tough ask to defend this total but India started off really well with the ball. They took two early wickets to push the Three Lions on the back-foot.
The defending champions were in a spot of bother when their captain Heather Knight held one end really well and helped her side complete the chase with more than 18 overs to spare. She scored an unbeaten 53 off 72 balls which secured their first win in this World Cup.
Speaking after the match, Knight said, “It was a bit of relief, we needed that but it was a bit sloppy. We were disappointed with our fielding. But good to see the team do well. Our bowlers were outstanding, wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on but Ecclestone and Dean made it difficult.”
The captain also applauded Natalie Sciver for her brilliant performance with the bat. Her score of 45 runs off 46 balls helped release the pressure from the rest of the team.
“The pitch was slow, was tricky and I really wanted to finish it off today. Congratulations to Goswami for her milestone. The cricket gods seemed to be on our side. Nat was outstanding, took the pressure off me on a tricky wicket,” she concluded.