CWG 2022: Indian cricket team beat England to reach the finals; guaranteed silver or gold
Australia Women will face New Zealand in the second semi-final later in the day.
India Women registered a thrilling four-run win in the first cricket semi-final against England at Edgbaston at the ongoing Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022, to ensure another silver or a gold in the competition.
Tasked to defend 13 off the final over with just four fielders allowed outside the ring due to the slow over-rate, Sneh Rana held her nerve to concede just three singles, while dismissing Katherine Brunt, and a final-ball six from Sophie Ecclestone wasn’t enough to alter the result.
Sophia Dunkley started off emphatically for England in response to India Women’s 164/5, striking successive fours off the first two balls of the chase from an in-form Renuka Singh. She struck another couple off Meghana Singh in the next over, before being trapped leg-before by Deepti Sharma for 19 on the fifth ball of the third.
Danielle Wyatt took it upon herself to keep the runs flowing, ensuring England stood at a strong 58/1 by the end of the powerplay. Alice Capsey fell short of her crease in an misjudged attempt for a second run, while Wyatt attempted a scoop too many off Rana to see her stumps rattled for 35 off 27.
Amy Jones then joined Nat Sciver in a 54-run fourth-wicket stand, the former’s consecutive fours off Shafali Verma contributing in a 15-run over to bring it down to 33 required off 24.
Deepti followed a quiet one to get it down to 30 off 18, and the mounting pressure resulted in Jones’ runout soon after to bring about another twist. Sciver struggled for timing for a major part, but a timely six off Pooja Vastrakar, followed by fortuitous four leg-byes brought the game back in balance, even though the skipper was runout soon after.
Rana though, was too good on the day to see India through.
The left-hander showcased her complete range, striking eight fours and three sixes in her second half-century from four innings, and now leads the run-scoring charts at CWG 2022 with 153 runs at 51.
India scored 64 in the powerplay, Mandhana contributing 51 off those, before Verma and the vice-captain fell in quick succession after a 76-run opening stand. The scoring slowed thereafter, and Harmanpreet Kaur’s dismissal in the 14th over threatened to dent India’s progress. However, they had the skilled and in-form Jemimah Rodrigues, who joined Deepti Sharma in a 53-run stand that would be broken only in the final over of the innings.
Deepti scored 22 off 20, while Rodrigues employed the inside-out stroke to great effect against spin and pace alike, striking seven fours in an unbeaten 44 off 31. 17-year-old all-rounder Freya Kemp was England’s standout bowler on the day, her left-arm seam getting the better of Verma and Harmanpreet in an impressive three-over spell.
Australia Women will face trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in the second semi-final later in the day. The final and the bronze medal clash will be played on Sunday, August 7.
Brief scores: India 164/5 (Smriti Mandhana 61, Jemimah Rodrigues 44; Freya Kemp 2/22) beat England 160/6 (Nat Scover 41, Danielle Wyatt 35; Sneh Rana 2/28, Deepti Sharma 1/18) by four runs.
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