Follow UsIndia’s senior trio - Smriti Mandhana, captain Harmanpreet Kaur, and Deepti Sharma - combined for 208 runs against England Women in a crucial ICC ODI Women’s World Cup clash on October 19 in Indore. However, none of them batted through to finish the chase, and India fell agonisingly short by four runs.
Chasing 289 on a good batting surface, India were cruising at 167/2 in 30.1 overs when Harmanpreet (70 off 70) was dismissed by Nat Sciver-Brunt. Mandhana, well set at the other end, was expected to anchor the chase, but the left-hander fell in the 42nd over to left-arm spinner Linsey Smith while playing a needless shot.
Mandhana made 88 off 94 balls and had stitched a 67-run stand for the fourth wicket with Deepti, who was scoring at almost a run a ball. India needed only 52 off the final seven overs, but her dismissal allowed England back into the contest. Deepti, too, couldn’t carry on and was removed by Sophie Ecclestone in the 47th over.
The equation came down to 27 off 18 balls, but with none of the set seniors at the crease, India stumbled at the finish. After the loss, Harmanpreet pointed to the moment things shifted. “I think Smriti's wicket was something which was a turning point for us, and I still think we had too many batters. I don't know how things went the other way, but credit goes to England. They didn't lose. They kept bowling well and kept getting wickets there,” she said.
She didn’t hide her disappointment at another close defeat. “The feeling is bad because you have put in so much hard work and you kept ticking the box till the end, but the last 5-6 overs didn't go according to your plan. That's the worst, but it's definitely a very heartbreaking moment. We are playing good cricket, we are not giving up. But that last line we have to cross now because it's been the last three games where we showed up with good cricket.”
India began the tournament with two wins but have now lost three in a row. They must win their next two games, against New Zealand and Bangladesh, to reach the semifinals. Harmanpreet reiterated how the Mandhana dismissal derailed the chase but insisted India still had the resources to finish it.
“These things will keep going because I think things were under control when Smriti and I were batting. And I think Smriti's wicket was turning for us. But still, we had Richa, Amanjot and Deepti, who have won games for us in the past,” she said.
“But unfortunately, today we were not able to make it. It was a very important match for all of us. We wanted to show good cricket as a group. And unfortunately, in the end, we were not able to make it. Even though we ended up losing, we really played good cricket, and we haven't given anyone anything easily. But now the next game is very important, and hopefully it will go our way.”