Tauranga, March 16: Charlie Dean took four wickets as England skittled India for just 134 inside 37 overs in their do-or-die match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup at the Bay Oval here on Wednesday. The defending champions England, who had suffered three consecutive defeats, turnaround the things and fought tooth and nail to keep their title defence alive.
A late 37-run partnership between Richa Ghosh (33) and Jhulan Goswami (20) was the only highlight of the Indian innings after being put in to bat. Dean (4/23) potentially displayed tournament-turning bowling performance, which engulfed Harmanpreet Kaur (14), Sneh Rana (0) and Pooja Vastrakar (6). Anya Shrubsole started the dream run for England, clean-bowling Yastika Bhatia (8) through bat and pad to bring up 100 ODI wickets before claiming the big scalp of Mithali Raj for just one.
Sophia Dunkley claimed a tricky catch to remove the Indian skipper and a direct-hit run out from Kate Cross dismissed Deepti Sharma (0), hinting that England’s fielding malaise may be behind the side chasing their first victory at the tournament. And the left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone turned the screws by trapping Mandhana in front for 35. UNI
