With 2-wins each under their belt, the two unbeaten sides in group B of the ongoing, ICC Women’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup, England and India, locked horns at St George’s Park, Gqeberha, and following the latter’s teasing 11-run defeat, former Indian skipper, Anjum Chopra tore apart the side’s batting unit.
1st innings: England- 151/7 (20.0)
The side asked to bat first had a poor start as Renuka Singh Thakur dismissed England’s top 3 with only 29 on board. Heather Knight and Nat Sciver Brunt rebuilt England’s innings and Shikha Pandey then provided India with a much-needed breakthrough on 80, dismissing Knight on 28(23). Following the 51-run stand, England had yet another healthy, 40-run stand, that this time around saw curtains with Nat walking back on 50(42).
While Sophie Ecclestone finished unbeaten on 11 off 8, Amy Jones’ 27-ball 40 powered England to finish on 151/7. Renuka dismissing Amy Jones and Katherine Sciver Brunt in the last over of the game bagged her maiden T20I fifer (5/15).
2nd innings: India- 140/5 (20.0)
India in reply had a calculative 29-run opening wicket stand that saw curtains with Shafali Verma departing on 8(11). While a set Smriti Mandhana looked to anchor the innings, Jemimah Rodrigues on 13(16) and Harmanpreet Kaur on 4(6) departed leaving India 3 down for 62 in the 11th over. Off a maximum, Smriti got to her fifty and departed the very next ball on 52(41), and with only odd boundaries, India was stranded on 105/6 at the end of the 16th over.
Adding insult to India’s injury was Deepti Sharma’s dismissal on 7(9) as a late flourish off Richa’s blade saw her finish unbeaten on 47(34), while India finished on 140, falling 11 short of the required. England had Sarah Glenn lead the wicket a chart with a couple and had Charlie Dean and Lauren Bell with a wicket each follow.
Result: England won by 11 runs
Reviewing the game, former India skipper, Anjum Chopra, on her YouTube channel commented, “India had chased 150 against Pakistan. The batting conditions in the game against England were good and India had a strong batting line-up as well. So one felt chasing might not be too difficult. But what was happening? I just couldn’t understand.
💬”What kind of a stroke is that?”
Anjum Chopra was critical of the Indian women’s team after the loss against England yesterday.#CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/ravURSMvS5
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 19, 2023
“When Shafali Verma played that shot, I was thinking, ‘what kind of a stroke is that?’ The ball was above her head and still she tried to go after it. This is not the first time it has happened. Jemimah Rodrigues also found the fielder.
“Harmanpreet Kaur has struggled against Sophie Ecclestone and has got out to her many times. She was also sent packing again. I couldn’t understand these kinds of contributions in the chase.”
Anjum lauded Richa’s efforts in stating, “I would applaud Richa Ghosh. In three consecutive matches, she has shown her mettle during chases. She was the only player, apart from Smriti Mandhana, who showed the mindset needed during a chase. But what were the others doing?”
(Quotes sourced from Anjum Chopra’s YouTube Channel)