Brunt, Shrubsole and Sciver consign India to defeat
Asked to bat by England, India moved to 62/1, and eventually 80/2, but could only manage 43 runs in their last seven overs, due to a middle-order meltdown that cost them four wickets.
It meant that the efforts of Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues went without being capitalised on. Mandhana had provided the innings the initial thrust with a 40-ball 45, as she dominated an opening stand of 39 with Shafali Verma, before adding 23 more for the second wicket with Rodrigues.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s arrival slowed down the scoring, as the captain limped to 14 off 23 balls. Rodrigues’ promising start was snuffed out when Anya Shrubsole had her stumped on 23. Thereafter, the innings struggled to gain momentum as India ended up with 123/6.
Our second win of the Tri-Series!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 7, 2020
Scorecard ➡️ https://t.co/lQoGEKVCCS pic.twitter.com/c1cEoeQdBE
Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt inflicted the bulk of the damage, taking five wickets between them.
India made quick work of Engand’s top three, reducing them to 28/3. It took the steady hand of No.4 Natalie Sciver, who made a match-defining 38-ball 50, to set the innings back on track. Sciver found able allies in her captain Heather Knight and Fran Wilson, who stayed unbeaten on 20 to see England through, after the dismissal of Sciver 10 short of the target.
Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad was India’s most successful bowler, with 3/23 in four overs, but the rest of the attack wasn’t quite as incisive.
