ICC Women's T20 World Cup, IND vs ENG: Mandhana-Richa heroics in vain as England win by 11 runs; fans upset
ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023: India failed to pass England in its third Group B meeting, falling short by 11 runs. The heroics from Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh were not enough, and netizens were left upset.
FollowTeam India fought against England but failed to come out on top in its third Group B encounter of the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup at St George's Park in Gqeberha on Saturday. The heroics from Smriti Mandhana (52) and Richa Ghosh (47*) were not enough, as the Women in Blue succumbed to their maiden tournament defeat, leaving the netizens unhappy. At the same time, the Three Lionesses secured their sixth straight win against the side in the competition to date.
Winning the toss, the Indians opted to bowl, as the English were off to a disturbed start, losing three for 29 by the fifth over of the PowerPlay (PP). However, Nat Sciver Brunt (50) and Heather Knight (28) added 51 for the fourth wicket to stabilise their innings before the latter departed to medium-pacer Shikha Pandey in the 11th.
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As Amy Jones (40), she tailored another 40-run partnership with Sciver Brunt before the latter struck her 10th Twenty20 International (T20I) half-century and fell to off-spinner Deepti Sharma in the 17th, at 120. Thereon, the stands were short-lived, as England finished on a par total of 151/7.
For India, pacer Renuka Singh was on fire, bagging a fifer, while she was substantially economical. In reply, it lost the opening wicket in the form of Shafali Verma (8) in the fourth with 29 runs on the board. While it was down to 62/3 by the 11th, Mandhana and Richa came up with a 43-run stand for the fourth wicket before the former departed in the 16th after hitting her 21st T20I 50.
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At 119/5, Richa and Pooja Vastrakar (2*) attempted to provide some fightback, with the former accelerating. However, the English bowlers bowled at tight lengths, and with the lack of enough firepower from the Indians, it was an 11-run difference at the end of the tie. Leg-spinner Sarah Glenn scalped a couple, while orthodox spinner Sophie Ecclestone was economical.
The win keeps England at the top of the group table, sealing its place in the semis, while India is ranked second and still has a contest to punch its ticket to the semis. The latter's final group-stage fixture is against Ireland at the same venue on Monday, which should be a relatively more straightforward task despite being a do-or-die encounter.
