6 days ago
Speedy half-centuries from Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues helped India station 188 for 7 and flooded hosts England by 38 runs successful nan first T20 world connected Thursday.
The debutant seamer Nandani Sharma, who took a hat-trick successful January’s WPL, could not rather repetition nan feat here, but 3 wickets successful nan abstraction of 5 balls was nevertheless an awesome outing for nan 24-year-old.
England were trounced by India past summer, truthful this bid promised to beryllium a bully trial of advancement complete nan past 12 months nether nan caput coach, Charlotte Edwards. But contempt nan determination to manus a maiden T20 headdress to nan 18-year-old Tilly Corteen-Coleman, efficaciously giving England an other bowling option, someway they still seemed to deficiency extent successful that department.
Lauren Bell was arsenic reliable arsenic ever, finishing pinch 3 for 34 and ripping isolated nan India top-order pinch a double-wicket opening over. On nan flip side, 1 powerplay complete from Issy Wong costs 27 runs, while different from Dani Gibson astatine nan decease went for 17.
In reply, Amy Jones struck 67 disconnected 48 balls from nan unfamiliar No 3 position – her first T20i half-century successful almost six years. England’s keeper has been nether scrutiny aft a mates of under-par performances pinch nan gloves, including letting done 14 byes astatine Canterbury past weekend. This innings should astatine slightest return immoderate of that power disconnected up of nan World Cup.
But nan deficiency of support for Jones told. Sophia Dunkley smashed a immense six consecutive down nan crushed but it was deja vu each complete again erstwhile she was caught astatine mid-off swiping crossed nan line. This lucifer was Heather Knight’s 310th world crossed formats, making her nan most‑capped England player. But 20-over cricket moves quickly these days and Knight’s innings of 22 from 24 balls made England’s task harder, not easier, arsenic nan tally complaint slow climbed retired of reach.
Both regular captains were absent from nan fray: Harmanpreet Kaur was rested for this match, while Nat Sciver-Brunt is still fighting her measurement backmost from a calf injury. Sciver-Brunt told nan BBC connected Thursday that betterment was “going to plan”, but whitethorn good still beryllium incapable to vessel by nan clip England’s World Cup run originates connected 12 June – which whitethorn further limit their options pinch nan ball.
England’s stand-in captain, Charlie Dean, fielded aggressively disconnected her ain bowling, astatine 1 constituent doubly pulling retired of her transportation stride, seemingly threatening to tally retired Bhatia astatine nan non-striker’s extremity successful a role-reversal of nan notorious incident astatine Lord’s 4 years ago.
It was Dean who collapsed nan ferocious 126-run business betwixt Bhatia and Rodrigues pinch a double-strike successful nan 14th over. First, she ran retired Bhatia, who was excessively slow to get going aft punching nan shot retired to short third. Two balls later, Dean took a bully debased drawback disconnected her ain bowling to region Rodrigues.
The evening had started pinch 2 contrasting overs from seamers Bell and Wong. Bell, steaming successful from nan Graham Gooch End, had Mandhana caught astatine screen pinch nan first shot of nan lucifer and Shafali Verma fell 5 balls later to an fantabulous drawback by Alice Capsey astatine mid-on, diving forward to declare it moreover arsenic Dean danced unluckily adjacent to her eyeline.
Unfortunately Wong past undid each nan bully activity from nan Alastair Cook End, successful an complete that evoked troubling memories of her scary show here three years agone against Sri Lanka. Back then, she leaked 24 runs from 2 overs – this clip she costs much than that successful six balls, conceding 27, 11 of which came successful wides.
But pinch some group batters removed, India’s decease prospects took a tumble, enabling Wong clip to atone for that first over, taking a spectacular debased drawback sprinting retired to heavy 3rd to manus Corteen-Coleman a maiden T20i wicket and past bowling Bharti Fulmali pinch a slower ball.
Perhaps nan elemental instruction present is that omitting Linsey Smith from their XI, leaving England pinch only 1 reliable bowling action successful nan powerplay, is not a adjuvant World Cup strategy. England person 2 much matches against India to fig that 1 out, earlier nan tourney begins.
