The Minnu Mani-led India-A won the first warm-up fixture against New Zealand by 4 wickets. India, led by Jemimah Rodrigues, were up against England, led by skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, in the 2nd warm-up game on the day of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup Warm-up games.
Renuka Singh struck in the first over to remove Tammy Beaumont for a three-ball duck, after Jemimah Rodrigues won the toss and opted to bowl first. Heather Knight joined wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones at the crease, and the duo led the recovery with a much-needed 58-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. Arundhati Reddy broke the stand, by sending Amy Jones (39 off 46 balls) back to the pavilion in the 13th over of the innings to provide the 2nd breakthrough for India.
Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt joined former skipper Heather Knight at the crease, and the duo took their side past the 100-run mark with another crucial 45-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. A lack of clear communication between the duo resulted in an unfortunate run-out of Heather Knight (37 off 47 balls), ending her promising stay at the crease, providing the 3rd breakthrough for the home side in the 21st over of the innings.
Emma Lamb joined skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease, and the pair took the English side in a commanding position with a massive 173-run partnership for the 4th wicket, before skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt decided to retire herself out, but not before scoring an impressive century, 120 (104 balls) in the 42nd over of the innings, giving some respite to the Indian bowlers.
England eventually posted a challenging total of 340/9 in their quota of 50 overs. Emma Lamb’s (84 off 60 balls) form was another big takeaway for England in the batting department. Alice Capsey (19 off 16 balls), Sophie Ecclestone (12 off 12 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat, lower down the order.
Kranti Goud (5-0-31-3) and Renuka Singh (10-0-56-1) were the stand-out performers with the ball for India. Sneh Rana (8.4-0-61-1), Shree Charani (10-0-75-1), and Radha Yadav (6.2-0-40-0) played their part with the ball for India.
Chasing a steep total of 341, Harleen Deol continued her below-par run, as Lauren Bell ended her stay in the 3rd over of the run chase to provide the first breakthrough for England. Jemimah Rodrigues joined Uma Chetry at the crease, and the duo led the recovery with a much-needed 68-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, which took them closer to the 100-run mark.
Linsey Smith ended Uma Chetry’s (45 off 50 balls) knock in the 16th over of the run chase to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh joined Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease, and the pair kept the home side alive in the run chase with a brisk 44-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, which also took them past the 130-run mark in the 23rd over of the run chase.
However, a run-out ended Richa Ghosh’s stay (21 off 23 balls) at the crease to provide the 3rd breakthrough for England. A horrible collapse saw India get bundled out for 187, with 16 overs to spare, losing their last 6 wickets for just 56 runs. As a result, the home side fell 153 runs short of the target. Arundhati Reddy didn’t come out to bat as she was injured.
Skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (66 off 68 balls) led from the front with a crafty half-century and top-scored with the bat for India in the run chase. Deepti Sharma (19 off 25 balls) and Shree Charani (11 off 7 balls) were the only other batters to enter the double digits with the bat for India.
Sophie Ecclestone (7-0-38-2) and Linsey Smith (6-0-35-2) were the pick of the bowlers for England. Charlie Dean (7-0-39-1), Lauren Filer (5-0-20-1), and Lauren Bell (5-0-33-1) played their part with the ball for their side.
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