Hazell, Eccelstone four-fors set up England win
With a comprehensive eight-wicket victory in Nagpur on Monday 9 April, England restored parity in their three-match women’s one-day international series against India.
India’s batters imploded again, and though they escaped with a one-wicket victory in the first ODI, England ensured there was no repeat this time around. Smriti Mandhana scored a 57-ball 42, Deepti Sharma ended on 26* in 58 balls, and Devika Vaidya scored a 31-ball 11. No other Indian reached double-figures as they were shot out for 113 in 37.2 overs.
Danielle Hazell, the off-spinner, and Sophie Eccelstone, the left-arm spinner, shared eight wickets equally between them. Hazell ran through the Indian top order and returned 4/32, while Eccelstone set her sights on the middle-order, finishing with astonishing figures of 4/14 from her 10 overs.
Danielle Wyatt then scored a 43-ball 47, before Tammy Beaumont (39* in 85 balls) and Heather Knight (26* in 42 balls) took England to the target in 29 overs, the visitors posting 117/2.
India played four spinners, but lacked an extra batter, with Jemimah Rodrigues once again excluded. They opted to bat, and on a pitch tailor-made for spinners, the home side fared well enough at the start, with Devika Vaidya and Mandhana adding a solid 31 within nine overs.
The breakthrough came when Hazell induced an outside edge off Vaidya, with Amy Jones collecting calmly behind the stumps. That triggered an implosion. Mithali Raj, the captain, came in and found the fence on the first delivery she faced, but fell to Hazell next ball, the offie getting significant turn to sneak in between bat and pad.
Harmanpreet Kaur (3) hung around for four overs, adding 12 runs with Mandhana, but then holed out off a full toss from Hazell. Veda Krishnamurthy (9) then added 19 runs for the fourth wicket before Ecclestone bowled her for her first wicket.
Mandhana had, all the while, expertly worked the spinners around and ensured the scoreboard kept moving, but when Eccelstone knocked back Mandhana’s off stump in the 22nd over, India were 80/5, with their best batter back in the hut.
The remaining five wickets added 33 runs in all, and even that was thanks to Sharma, who sealed up one end and found the fence when she could. At the other end, Pooja Vastrakar, Sushma Verma and Ekta Bisht were all dismissed for ducks, while Jhulan Goswami (6) and Poonam Yadav (2) found the going far too tough.
England never looked likely to falter in their chase. Wyatt and Beaumont ensured they didn’t get bogged down and went after the bowling. There were five fours between them and a six down the ground from Wyatt off Sharma before lunch, which was taken after 10 overs with England 50/0.
Wyatt continued attacking after the 30-minute break, hitting another six and three more fours before falling to Ekta Bisht. She came down the track attempting another biggie, but yorked herself and was stumped. Amy Jones was dismissed for nought in Bisht's next over, as England were reduced to 75/2.
It was all too little too late for India, though. Beaumont was partnered by Knight in an unbroken 42-run stand, and the two saw the chase through without further hiccoughs.