Nat Sciver-Brunt’s all-round show powers England to a thumping 178-run victory to sweep the ODI series.
The England women’s team led by skipper Heather Knight is currently hosting Pakistan Women’s team led by skipper Nida Dar for a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. The home side whitewashed the visitors, Pakistan (3-0) in the three-match T20I series.
The England women clinched a comfortable 37-run victory in the 1st ODI of the series. The 2nd ODI of the series was washed out courtesy of persistent rain. The England skipper Heather Knight won the toss and opted to bat first in the 3rd and final ODI of the series at the County Ground Chelmsford. The England openers Tammy Beaumont and Maia Bouchier got off to a steady start. Fatima Sana cleaned up Tammy Beaumont to provide the first breakthrough for Pakistan.
Skipper Heather Knight joined Maia Bouchier at the crease and the duo stitched a 21-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Diana Baig picked up the wicket of Maia Bouicher to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Skipper Heather Knight soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Pakistan. Danielle Wyatt joined Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 79-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Skipper Nida Dar picked up the wicket of Danielle Wyatt to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side.
Wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones joined Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 66-run partnership for the 5th wicket. Umm-e-Hani came back and picked up the wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones to provide the 5th breakthrough for Pakistan. The home side, England eventually ended up with a total of 302/5 in their quota of overs. They breached the 300-run mark courtesy of an 87-run 6th-wicket partnership between Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey.
Nat Sciver-Brunt smashed her 9th ODI century and stayed unbeaten (124 off 117 balls), Danielle Wyatt (44 off 42 balls), Alice Capsey (39 off 42 balls), and Maia Bouchier (34 off 33 balls) were the top performers with the bat for England. Umm-e-Hani (10-0-47-2), skipper Nida Dar (10-0-51-1), Diana Baig (9-1-60-1), and Fatima Sana (7-0-57-1) were the top performers with the ball for Pakistan.
Chasing a massive target of 303, Pakistan got off to a poor start, losing both their openers in the 4th over of the run chase. Ayesha Zafar joined Muneeba Ali at the crease and the duo stitched a 21-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Kate Cross picked up the wicket of Ayesha Zafar to provide the 3rd breakthrough for England. Wicket-keeper batter Najiha Alvi joined Muneeba Ali at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 39-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Nat Sciver-Brunt cleaned up the wicket-keeper batter Najiha Alvi to provide the fourth breakthrough for her side.
Aliyah Riaz joined Muneeba Ali at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 21-run partnership for the 5th wicket. Nat Sciver-Brunt came back and picked up the wicket of Muneeba Ali to provide the 5th breakthrough for England. The visitors, Pakistan suffered a horrible collapse as they were bundled out for 124 in the 30th over of the run chase, losing their last five wickets for just 29 runs and 125 balls to spare.
Muneeba Ali (47 off 55 balls), Aliya Riaz (36 off 41 balls), and Ayesha Zafar (13 off 14 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Pakistan. Nat Sciver-Brunt (5-1-11-2), Sophie Ecclestone (4.1-15-3), Kate Cross (5-0-19-1), and Lauren Bell (5-0-26-2) were the top performers with the ball for England. Nat Sciver-Brunt was awarded the Player of the Match for her exceptional all-round performance, scoring an unbeaten century (124 off 117 balls) with the bat, and returning with sensational match figures (5-1-11-2) with the ball in her spell.
She played a crucial role in helping her side clinch a massive 178-run victory in the 3rd ODI. Left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone was awarded the Player of the Series as she picked six wickets with the ball in a couple of innings. Her contributions were instrumental in helping England sweep the three-match ODI series by a 2-0 margin.
