Gqeberha, Feb 18: England produced a superb bowling performance to successfully defend 151/7 and beat India at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.
Smriti Mandhana scored a sublime half-century to put India in a decent position in the chase.
But the rate of scoring slowed through the middle overs as England’s spinners took control of the game, with Sophie Ecclestone the stand-out bowler once again, picking up 1/14 from her four overs and strangling India’s batters at a crucial point of the match.
Mandhana’s 52 from 41 was the top score in the reply, with Richa Ghosh finishing unbeaten on 47 not out from 34.
But only one other Indian batter reached double figures as they fell 11 runs short of the target.
Earlier, it was India who won the toss and opted to bowl first, and Harmanpreet Kaur’s side made a superb start with the ball in Gqeberha.
The brilliance of Thakur did the damage, with the strike bowler removing all of England’s top three inside the Powerplay.
Danni Wyatt was the first to go, edging behind and brilliantly caught by Richa Ghosh for a golden duck.
And the dangerous Alice Capsey soon joined Wyatt back in the dugout when she was cleaned up by a beauty that swung in before nipping away and clipping the top of off stump.
England came into the game talking up their attacking philosophy, and kept playing shots despite the loss of those two early wickets.
But Sophia Dunkley (10 from 11) made it three wickets for Thakur when she went for a big shot and had her stumps rearranged.
The score was 37/3 by the end of the Powerplay, with England relying on Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight to lead the recovery.
And they did just that, putting on 51 runs through the middle overs before Knight was caught at mid-off.
Such was the quality of England’s rebuilding job, that 150 was still on the cards when Sciver-Brunt reached a superb half-century.
And fine contributions from Amy Jones (40 from 27) and Sophie Ecclestone (11 from 8) continued the flow of runs as England reached 151/7 at the end of their full 20 overs.
Thakur had returned to bowl the final over, and her dismissals of Jones and Katherine Sciver-Brunt saw her finish with sensational figures of 5/15 – the best by an Indian bowler at a Women’s T20 World Cup.
But the brilliance of England’s recovery proved sufficient to deny India, with the bowlers completing the job.
There were some superb performances on the day from both teams with Nat Sciver-Brunt taking the Player of the Match award for her brilliant 50, Smriti Mandhana excelling with the bat and Renuka Thakur producing in style with the ball for India.
But England’s spinner was pivotal in wrapping up the win, controlling the scoring rate and leaving India with too much to do late on in the game.
Ecclestone bowled three of the last ten for England, backing up her pre-match statement that she excels in the pressure environment. (UNI)
