ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, Group 2, India vs England: Renuka Singh's 5-15, Amy Jones' 40, Sophie Ecclestone's 1-14 are top performances. England Women beat India Women by 11 runs and move to first place in Group 2.
Brief Scores: England 151-7 (Nat Sciver-Brunt 50, Amy Jones 40, Renuka Singh Thakur 5/15) beat India 140/5 (Smriti Mandhana 52, Richa Ghosh 47*, Sarah Glenn 2-27) by 11 runs
Player of the Match: Nat Sciver-Brunt - 50(42)
England Women beat India Women by 11 runs in their third match in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 at the St George’s Park in Gqeberha on February 18.
India’s batters never really dominated and never took chances in the run chase
England put up a competitive total of 151/7, despite Renuka Singh Thakur’s brilliant 5/15. But India in a bid to chase down the target, got off to a horrible start, as opener Shafali Verma couldn’t contribute much to the scoring and was dismissed at 8 off 11. Smriti Mandhana, on the other hand, played patiently and kept scoring persistently without much support from the other end.
But the top-order’s failure of not being able to score heftily in the powerplay and regular loss of wickets never really allowed India to get in the groove. India’s batting never really accelerated throughout the innings; what was actually required was some power-hitting when the required run rate was slowly creeping up.
Boundary scoring by India was dried up in the slog overs and the constant slight drizzle throughout India’s run chase made the scoring even more difficult as the outfield appeared spongy and slow. Richa Ghosh started slow but she kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and twos with Smriti Mandhana fighting at the other end. Now the onus of getting India home fell on the young dynamic shoulders of Richa Ghosh who is having a dream run at the World Cup. She accelerated and hit boundaries and sixes to keep India in the hunt but unfortunately it was too late as required run rate crept over 11 and there was no strong support for her at the other end. India Women fell 11 runs short of England’s score and scored 140/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
Let’s scan the top performances from the game between India and England at Gqeberrha in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.
Renuka Singh Thakur back into business with quick wickets in powerplay
Renuka Singh Thakur who had a memorable Commonwealth Games 2022 got back with a bang in an important encounter in the group stage match in T20 World Cup 2023 between India and England. It’s her quick wicket-taking abilities that places her above other pacers in the team. Renuka delivered the kind of start India were hoping from her after they opted to field, sending England’s top three back to the den within the powerplay overs.
Renuka struck in the very first over of the England innings, removing Danielle Wyatt for a golden duck with a good length delivery that Wyatt edged to wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh who took a stunning reflex catch to her right. Renuka produced another peach of a ball which angled in off a good length and hit the top of off stump, dismissing Alice Capsey. She didn’t stop there as she produced another wicket-taking delivery as Dunkley was undone by an inswinger by Thakur.
Renuka came back in the final over and picked up couple of more wickets to complete her maiden 5-fer. Renuka is known for her bowling exploits especially in the powerplay overs but on Saturday she proved that she has far more potential being equally effective at the death overs as well. Renuka bowled a full-length delivery close to off stump and Amy Jones being at her hitting best handed a dolly to Richa Ghosh. Renuka bowled a slower fullish delivery, Katherine had to go for the big shot and she mistimed it to long-on as Radha Yadav grabbed the catch.
Read More: T20 WC 2023, IND-W v WI-W: Clinical bowling helps Ind win; Deepti 1st Indian to take 100 T20I wkts
Amy Jones’s acceleration in slog overs does the trick for England
When Renuka Singh Thakur rattled through England’s top order, things looked flimsy for England at one stage. Then a steady partnership of 51 runs between Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight steadied England’s ship after a Renuka storm. After they got dismissed, it was Amy Jones who took the onus of scoring for England and hit boundaries all around the park. Amy Jones scored a quickfire 40 off 27 before being dismissed by Renuka Singh Thakur. It was her brilliant quick-scoring that helped England post a competitive score of 151/7.
Sophie Ecclestone spins a web around Indian batters
Sophie Ecclestone proved why she is one of the most brilliant bowlers in T20 internationals. She was tight in her bowling, spinning a web for Indian batters and a miser in giving runs ending with figures of 4-0-14-1. She took the important wicket of Harmanpreet Kaur dismissing her at 4 off 6; that wicket really was the game-changer in the match as it turned the match in England’s favour. Her economical spell kept India on a tight leash and thwarted them in their chase.
Special mention must be given to Richa Ghosh who has not been dismissed even once in this edition of T20 World Cup. She really batted well, munched on the loose deliveries but couldn’t take India home this time. Her valiant effort in the end went in vain as wickets kept falling at regular intervals at the other end and she was devoid of any support on Saturday. She scored 47* off 32 deliveries to take India close to England’s score.
Statistical Highlights from IND-W vs ENG-W, Group 2
Renuka Thakur’s figures of 4-0-15-5 are the best bowling figures for India, overtaking Priyanka Roy who had produced a bowling spell of 4-0-16-5 against Pakistan in 2009 Women’s T20 World Cup.
Renuka’s 5/15 are the fourth-best returns overall in Women’s T20 world cups.
The 2023 edition of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is the first ever Women’s T20 World Cup with more than one 5-wicket haul: Ashleigh Gardener – 5-12 vs New Zealand & Renuka Singh Thakur-5-15 vs England.
England maintain an unassailable lead of 6-0 against India in ICC T20 World Cup.
Points Table Scenario & What’s Next
India Women are placed second in the points table with 4 points from 3 games and net run rate (NRR) of 0.205. England lead the table with 6 points and an NRR of 1.776.
India will next face Ireland in their final group stage match at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on February 20, 2023.
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