Indian women fall short

The Indian women lost the game but won the hearts of the crowd which backed them to beat England in the ICC World Twenty20 contest here on Tuesday.

India posted 90 for eight but the slow nature of the pitch meant the English had to toil. 

22 March, 2016 21:38 IST

The Indian women lost the game but won the hearts of the crowd which backed them to beat England in the ICC World Twenty20 contest here on Tuesday. England made it with two wickets and an over to spare after some tense moments almost cost it the match.

India posted 90 for eight but the slow nature of the pitch meant the English had to toil. The early wicket of Charlotte Edwards galvanised the Indians, who put up a stiff fight but failed to translate it into a victory. Harmanpreet Kaur reprieving Anya Shrubsole with four runs to go may haunt the team for some time as England scampered home for its second victory in as many matches. For India, it was the second loss in three games with a mach against the West Indies in hand.

Mithali Raj had got what she wanted to – an opportunity to bat first. Only the Indians had no plans to tackle the English attack, which had a nice mix of pace and spin. The batting order once again lacked vision with Shikha Pandey walking in ahead of Harmanpreet Kaur, the only player in the team with the capability to clear the ropes.

Harmanpreet, a superb athlete, was wasted at No. 5. The top run-getter thus far, she made an effort even on a slow pitch but the English women had done their home work. They looked to take wickets and succeeded in making an impact from the first over when off-spinner Heather Knight struck with the third ball.

The Indian challenge was snuffed every time the team made an effort to counter England. Mithali Raj produced a cameo and Harmanpreet gave the innings a fillip after she joined her skipper in the 12th over. Picking gaps with élan Harmanpreet picked some valuable runs, including three well-struck boundaries, before India closed at 90 for eight.

The scores:

India: Vellaswamy Vanitha c Greenway b Knight 0 (3b), Smriti Mandhana b Shrubsole 12 (16b, 2x4), Mithali Raj c Greenway b Sciver 20 (33b, 2x4), Shikha Pandey c Brunt b Knight 12 (19b), Harmanpreet Kaur (run out) 27 (25b, 3x4) , Veda Krishnamurthy b Knight 2 (6b), Jhulan Goswami c Taylor b Shrubsole 2 (5b), Anuja Patil (run out) 13 (13b, 1x4), Ekta Bisht (not out) 0 (0b) Extras (b-1, w-1) 2, Total (for eight wickst in 20 overs ) 90.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Vanitha), 2-15 (Mandhana), 3-44 (Pandey), 4-47 (Raj), 5-52 (Krishnamurthy), 6-65 (Goswami), 7-87 (Patil), 8-90 (Kaur).

England bowling: Heather Knight 4-0-15-3, Katherine Brunt 4-0-24-0, Anya Shrubhsole 4-0-12-2, Jenny Gunn 4-0-17-0, Rebecca Grundy 2-0-14-0, Natalie Sciver 2-0-7-1.

England: Charlotte Edwards c Sushma Verma b Bisht 4 (6b), Tammy Beaumont c Patil b Kaur 20 (18b, 4x4), Sarah Taylor st Verma b Kaur 16 911b, 3x4), Heather Knight, Natalie Sciver c Raj b Bisht 19 (24b, 2x4), Lydia Greenway lbw b Bisht 0 91b), Danielle Wyatt (run out) 5 (6b), Katherine Brunt (not out) 4 915b), Jenny Gunn (run out) 7 (7b, 1x4), Anya Shrubsole (not out) 5 (7b, 1x4), Extras (b-1, lb-2, 4-1) 4, Total (foe eight wickets in 19 overs) 92.

Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Edwards), 2-42 (Beaumont), 3-42 (Taylor), 4-62 (Knight), 5-62 (Greenway), 6-71 (Sciver). 7-79 (Wyatt)

India bowling: Anuja Patil 4-0-22-0, Jhulan Goswami 2-0-10-0, Ekta Bisht 4-0-21-4, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 4-1-10-0, Harmanpreet Kaur 4-0-22-2, Veda Krishnamurthy 1-0-4-0.