India triumphs thanks to Smriti Mandhana’s classy game and stunning bowling performances!
India triumphs thanks to Smriti Mandhana’s classy game and stunning bowling performances! Smriti Mandhana’s beautiful 91 helped India beat England by seven wickets in the first WODI on Sunday. This added to her reputation as one of India’s best game-winners.
Harmanpreet Kaur made a good call when she won the toss. India’s veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami was accurate with the bowling. She delivered 42 dot balls in one of her last international games. England scored a below-average 227 for seven. This was mainly because of the efforts of the lower middle-order batters. Here’s a detailed version of yesterday’s win for India!
Madhana’s Charming 91, Harmanpreet’s Classy 74*, and Yastika’s Half-Ton!
During the chase, India was never in trouble because Mandhana drove and pulled her way to 91 off 99 balls. Then, however, she missed a well-deserved sixth WODI hundred by nine runs.
But by the time Smriti was out, Harmanpreet had made sure that the Women in Blue won in the 45th over. So they now have a lead by one win in the three-match series.
Yastika Bhatia got her third half-century (50 off 47 balls). She scored at a rate of more than one run per ball. She proved that she has a lot of talent but hasn’t used it well enough.
Yastika and Mandhana’s 96-run second-wicket stand in just 16.1 overs laid the groundwork. Then, Harmanpreet (74 not out in 94 balls) added 99 runs with her deputy and finished in style with a slog-swept six.
Mandhana hit more than ten boundaries during her innings.
During the Powerplay, both Yastika and Mandhana hit beautiful drives through the covers. The Indian vice-captain also played a lot of pull shots when the English bowlers were moving down the leg-side.
The Bowling Attack
Indian spinners Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma changed the speed of their deliveries to give the English batters a hard time. Also, England’s seamers Kate Cross (2/43 in 10 overs), Alice Davidson-Jones (0/48 in 7.2 overs), Wong (0/35 in 5 overs), and off-spinner Charlie Dean (1/45 in 10 overs) leaked many runs. This led to the visiting team batters using the speed of their deliveries to score runs behind the square.
In the first 15 overs, India hit 13 fours and one six. After that, England had no chance of winning.
The 39-year-old legend Goswami was thrifty at first. However, she gave up only 20 runs in 10 overs and as many as 42 dot balls. She didn’t let Tammy Beaumont hit a single four or six. And she also got rid of her with a good off-cutter.
India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, did the right thing by choosing to field. After all, it is a track where the ball isn’t always coming onto the bat.
First, seamer Meghna Singh (1/42 in 8 overs) quickly removed the other opener Emma Lamb (12), with a short ball. Then, Goswami and the two spinners Deepti (2/33 in 10 overs) and Gayakwad (1/40 in 10 overs), consistently cut off the flow of runs.
But Sneh Rana (1/45 in 6 overs), Pooja Vastrakar (0/20 in 2 overs), and Meghna let some runs through. So the home team ended up with a score of over 220.
Stars for England
England got immense help from Dani Wyatt (43), Alice Davidson-Richards (50*), and Sophie Ecclestone (31). Even Charlie Dean’s cameo (24 not out off 21 balls) helped make the target bigger at the end.
Even though Harmanpreet got England to 128 for 6 in the 34th over, England’s lower middle order batters added more than 100 runs to bring the score up to a respectable level.
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