In the clash of the titans at the title summit of this World Cup; we witnessed an absolutely breathtaking match. England was coming into the finals on the back of spectacular and unbeaten performances in the group stages, the Super Six stage and the semi-final while India, too, played phenomenally well in the group stages, had a near scare in the Super Six stage while cruising in the semi-finals to make it to the finals.
This encounter certainly lived up to its billing and what was fascinating was how India held control and leverage throughout the game that ensured they ended up on the other side of the finishing line without much distress. India won the toss and decided to field first which, in hindsight, was such a good call.
England had the worst possible start losing their opener Liberty Heap for a two-ball duck as Titas Sadhu got the first breakthrough for India in the very first over. Niamh Holland played a brisk 10 off 8 coupled with two boundaries but was dismissed and with skipper Grace Scrivens also getting out by Archana Devi in the same over, England was in all sorts of trouble. With Seren Smale and Ryana MacDonanld-Gay attempting to build a partnership, England was still looking shaky and before they could fully get going, Smale was dismissed by Sadhu. The powerplay was disastrous for England and with Charis Pavely getting out LBW by Parshavi Chopra, MacDonald Gay was the next to fall for 19.
The slippery slope only got worse for England as Josie Groves was run out courtesy of a brilliant piece of fielding by Soumya Tiwari that hit the wickets bullseye in a spectacular fashion. With skipper Shafali Verma also getting rid of Hannah Baker for a golden duck thanks to some outstanding keeping by Richa Ghosh, India was already streets ahead of England in the match. Sophia Smale instilled some sense of hope with her 11 but with Sonam Yadav getting the better of her, it meant England ended up 68 all out in 17.1 overs. For India, it was none other than Titas Sadhu who shone with the ball as her figures read 2/6 in four overs as she bowled an unbelievable 20 dot balls and was economical at 1.5 and with Archana Devi and Parshavi Chopra also scalping two wickets besides Mannat Kashyap, Shafali Verma and Sonam Yadav with their one wicket each contributing their bit to India’s instrumental bowling performance to restrict England.
India was off to a good start as Shafali Verma gave the much-needed impetus to a small yet tricky run-chase like this but Hanna Baker with her wily spin got the better of her dismissing her for 15. The dependable batter Shweta Sehrawat too was dismissed by the skipper of England, Scrivens for 5 which suddenly made the match interesting as England was staging a fight. G Trisha and Soumya Tiwari were good for India as they stitched a crucial partnership and kept the pressure away but as Trisha was dismissed for a well-crafted 24, the Women in Blue still needed quick runs to sail them across the line.
With Jersey No. 18 and their knack of taking India across the line, Soumya Tiwari in her characteristic style sealed the deal for India with her unbeaten 24 as India lifted the maiden World Cup amidst cheers from the girls who ran from the boundary and celebrated with all the feelings and emotions on display. India chased down this total in 14 overs and England can certainly be credited for a good bowling effort and still making a match out of it but for the Indian fans, this will always be a match to remember and savour. The tears of Shafali Verma spoke a thousand words and speaks volumes of how much this win meant to India.
🎵चक दे इंडिया🎵 pic.twitter.com/WrZJy0HSqI
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 29, 2023
Brief Scores: ENG – 68 all out in 17.1 overs (R MacDonald-Gay 19, So Smale 11; Sadhu 2/6, A Devi 2/17, P Chopra 2/13) lost to IND – 69/3 in 14 overs (S Tiwari 24*, G Trisha 24; H Baker 1/13, G Scrivens 1/13, A Stonehouse 1/8) by 7 wickets with 36 balls remaining
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.
