India locked horns with England in match no. 14 of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Saturday, February 18.
Asked to bat first, England got off to a decent start, but the Indian bowlers soon gained the upper hand, taking two wickets in quick succession. However, Nat Sciver Brunt put up a great show for her team and scored a half-century to stabilize the English innings. Amy Jones also played a quickfire knock of 40 runs and helped England post a total of 151/7 in their 20 overs.
Meanwhile, Renuka Singh picked a sensational fifer for India and gave away just 15 runs in her quota of four overs. She was well supported by Shikha Pandey and Deepti Sharma, who also joined the party and bagged one wicket each.
In reply, India’s chase began at a slow pace as the openers struggled to get going. After the dismissal of right-handed opener Shafali Verma, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana held one end and kept the score ticking with some well-timed boundaries. She scored a magnificent 52 off 41 deliveries.
Richa Ghosh, who came in at number 5, played a brilliant innings of 47 runs off 34 balls as well, but it wasn’t enough to get India across the line as the England bowler’s accuracy and discipline guided them to restrict India to 140/4 in 20 overs and clinch an 11-run victory.
Sarah Glenn was the pick of the bowlers for England with 2 for 27, while Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell scalped one wicket each.
Nat Sciver was declared the ‘Player of the Match’ for her exceptional batting performance.
England won the match, Richa Ghosh won hearts! #T20WorldCup #ENGvIND Scorecard: https://t.co/ymyT5KGVB8 #CricketTwitter #WomenCricket pic.twitter.com/xvvCpE0ixX
— WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) February 18, 2023
With the win, England maintained their top spot in the Group B points table, as it was their third consecutive win in the tournament. On the other hand, India still stands at the second position in the points tally with two wins and a loss.
