Harmanpreet Kaur’s India claim a series victory in England after 23 Years

Clinical India at Hove took a 1-0 lead in the 3-match One-Day International (ODI) series and bettered their outing during the 2nd game at Canterbury where a Harmanpreet Kaur-centered innings set India up for a big win. A dominant bowling display got India the emphatic win they were after and also have sealed the series 2-0 with a game in hand.

 

Harmanpreet Kaur's India claim a series victory in England after 23 Years. PC: Getty Images
Harmanpreet Kaur’s India claim a series victory in England after 23 Years. PC: Getty Images

1st innings : India – 333/5 (50)

England having won the toss opt to ball first and had the start they would have wished for as Shafali Verma on 8(7) made her way back. Smriti Mandhana was then joined by Yastika Bhatia and the two carried on with good running and boundaries in regular intervals which saw the two share a 54-run stand that saw curtains with the wicket of Yastika on 26(34). Smriti Mandhana then had a small 33-run partnership alongside Harmanpreet Kaur before departing on the score of 40(51). The pair of Harmanpreet Kaur and Harleen Deol stitched a fine stand for India and with odd boundaries in the mix got to individual fifties in 64 and 69 balls respectively.

In the 40th over when Harmanpreet Kaur looked to switch gears, lost Harleen on 58(70) which got an end to their 113-run stand. Harmanpreet was well switched on and Pooja Vastrakar too joined in but her brief stay came to an end on 18(16). A boundary when was followed by a single, heard the loudest cheer of the day as Harmanpreet Kaur got to her 100(100) and then teed off to finish the innings with an 11-ball-43 which saw her finish unbeaten on 143(111) and Deepti Sharma’s handy 9-ball-15 cameo powered India to finish on 333.

England with the ball had all 5 bowlers; Lauren Bell, Kate Cross, Freya Kemp, Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone with a wicket each to their name. On a wicket where pacers considered 79, 68 and 82 runs and a track where World no.1 Sophie Ecclestone conceded 64 runs, Charlie Dean finished her spell at an economy rate of 3.9.

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2nd innings : England – 245/10 (44.2)

England in reply had the worst possible start as Tammy Beaumont returned to the dressing room on the score of 6(8) as was run out by Harmanpreet Kaur. Sophia Dunkley too couldn’t get her bat taking as she walked back on 1(8) and Renuka Singh Thakur had her first. Alice Capsey walked in and brilliantly got going with a set of successive boundaries, while on the other end, opener Emma Lamb who was watching it all unfold, was next to depart on 15(18). Danni Wyatt walked in and straightaway off a boundary got her innings underway and alongside Capsey stitched a 55-run stand that came to a close with the wicket of Capsey on 39(36). Amy Jones brilliantly got her innings underway and soon Danni Wyatt on the other end got to her 50*(40) and just as the partnership between the two was starting to look dangerous, Renuka provided India with a breakthrough by dismissing Danni Wyatt on 65(68).

Wasn’t long before Any Jones departed on 39(51) and India with a couple of wickets in quick succession strengthen their hold on the game. Sophie Ecclestone departed early on the score of 1(2) and Freya Kemp’s start too saw curtains on 12(11). A late 28-run stand between Kate Cross and Charlie Dean saw curtains as part-timer Shafali struck the former on 14(14). Lauren Bell hung in and did so for 11*(14) while Charlie Dean was doing her best to close out on their defeat margin before being dismissed on 37(44) and with that wicket, India sealed the win in 44. 2 overs of play.

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India with the ball had Renuka Singh Thakur put on a show with figures of 10-0-57-4 and on the wickets chart had Dayalan Hemalatha with a couple and Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma with a wicket each to their name follow, while Jhulan Goswami had a wicketless, but economical outing.

Result : India won by 88-runs

With the commanding 88-run win, India registers a series win on English soil after 23 long years. The sealed series leaves India with nothing to lose at Lord’s during the final game of the series allowing them to farewell Jhulan Goswami without much to worry about the series. Whereas, England has got enough to worry about as they wouldn’t wish a whitewash on home soil and will want to leave out a strong closing statement.

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