England v India: series-deciding third women’s cricket ODI – live | Women’s cricket
Key events
6th over: England 15-2 (Lamb 6, Sciver-Brunt 0) The offspinner Sneh Rana starts with a maiden – but it could have been even better for India. Emma Lamb edged the last ball of the over and was dropped by the keeper Richa Ghosh. There was a decent deflection, which made it a pretty tough chance; even so, Ghosh would take that maybe seven times out of 10.
5th over: England 15-2 (Lamb 6, Sciver-Brunt 0) Sciver-Brunt, still on 0, edges Gaud fractionally short of slip. India’s intensity in the field is eye-catching – or rather ear-catching.
There’s nothing vicious – I’m not sure they’re even talking to the England batters – but their collective energy must be pretty intimidating. Especially when you’re 15 for 2 chasing plenty.
4th over: England 13-2 (Lamb 5, Sciver-Brunt 0) Lamb chips Sharma decisively over wide mid-on for four to get off the mark. NSB is still on 0 after 8 balls, which might seem odd but makes sense in the circumstances. England’s best chance of victory is a Sciver-Brunt epic, like the 2022 World Cup final but with a happier ending. A careful start gives her a bigger chance of doing something miraculous.
“You’ll catch the end of Pointless at this rate, Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Or at least get to see the darts. Been dramatic in Blackpool so far…”
3rd over: England 8-2 (Lamb 0, Sciver-Brunt 0) I didn’t realise Gaud was on a hat-trick, having struck with the last ball of her first over and the first of her second. Nat Sciver-Brunt defends the hat-trick ball but is unable to get off the mark for the rest of the over. A wicket maiden is a decent second prize for Gaud.
Jones threw the bat at a wide, full delivery from Gaud and sliced the ball towards gully. It seemed to be past Deepti Sharma, who dived backwards to her right to take a stunning one-handed catch. Outrageous! That’s a microcosm of the whole tour; India have wiped the floor with England in the field.
WICKET! England 8-2 (Jones c Sharma b Gaud 4)
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Amy Jones has fallen to a stunning catch and England are in all sorts, already.
2nd over: England 8-1 (Jones 4, Lamb 0) The offspinner Deepti Sharma shares the new ball and rushes through an over that costs just one. The new batter Emma Lamb, who is more comfortable against pace early on, played out four dot balls to end the over.
1st over: England 7-1 (Jones 3, Lamb 0)
WICKET! England 7-1 (Beaumont b Gaud 2)
Kranti Gaud starts the innings with a big no-ball, which allows Amy Jones to drag the free hit over midwicket for three runs. Her opening partner Tammy Beaumont works two off the pads and then survives a big LBW shout. It did too much and would have missed leg stump.
No matter, because the last ball of the over gets the job done. Beaumont has been bowled by a jaffa – a similar delivery to the LBW appeal, except this one was perfectly pitched and came back through to the gate to hit the top of off. The perfect start for India.
England will make history if they pull this off. No team has scored 319 or more batting second to win a women’s ODI. In fact, only one team has chased more than 300, Sri Lanka against South Africa last year.
England, whose openers are about to take the field, have quite the job on.
Thanks Daniel, hello everyone. Jemimah Rodrigues, interviewed on Sky Sports, reckons India made a “fighting total”. The pundits don’t entirely concur. The unspoken consensus is that India have a fighting chance in the same way Mike Tyson had a fighting chance every time he entered a boxing ring between 1985 and 1989.
That, then is me. Rob Smyth will be with you shortly to call England home, but otherwise, peace aht.
Between-innings reading:
That was shockingly competent from India. Not that it wasn’t obvious that they’re good, more that they calmly put away the bad balls with extreme prejudice, saw out the better bowlers and tougher moments, then properly got after it at the end. England have the firepower to chase this, but it’ll need something very special to even make it close.
India set England 319 to win ODI series
50th over: India 318-5 (Ghosh 38, Yadav 2) Sorry, one ball: Yadav gets away to midwicket, then Ghosh bottom-edges high … just over Allen, and just over the fence for six! Two more follow, ad it’s worth noting that India have compiled this phat total without even needing Deepti; that’s some terrifying power, right there. An tennis-slap down the ground adds two more, likewise a lovely-sounding hollow loft back over the bowler’s head, and that completes a near-perfect dig from India. Well, well batted.
49th over: India 305-5 (Ghosh 26, Yadav 1) Yadav forces to cover to get off the mark and when Ghosh can’t get away the final delivery of Smith’s spell – the analysis of which reads 1-74 – Bell will have a full over at Yadav to complete the innings.
WICKET! Kaur c Sciver-Brunt b Smith 1-02 (India 304-5)
Harmanpreet drives hard but uppishly, and Sciver-Brunt, diving as the ball lasers past her, takes a decent catch. A quality knock from a quality player.
49th over: India 304-4 (Kaur 102, Ghosh 26) It’s been an uncomfortable innings for Smith, whose first ball is swept to deep backward square by Ghosh; to win the series, England must now complete their highest-ever chase. A dot follows, then a hard pull heads straight to Filer … who kind of leaps past it, putting the chance down.
48th over: India 299-4 (Kaur 102, Ghosh 21) Bell is back and Ghosh flicks into the leg-side for two, then turns a slot-ball into a half-volley, stepping away again to fizz four through cover. The power in India’s batting lineup is seriously serious, but when Ghosh slaps to cover, they try for a second run and does Harmanpreet make it back to the non-striker’s? Just, the full-length drive saving her, but in comms, Butch is irritated Lamb wasn’t in sharply enough nor her throw good enough, and England are punished, Ghosh annihilating a slower-ball over wide mid-off for the first six of the innings. England’s fielding needs some attention, and a one then a two make it 17 off the over; India have paced this beautifully.
Harmanpreet Kaur raises her century
47th over: India 282-4 (Kaur 100, Ghosh 6) It’s Smith in again and her first three balls go for two ones and a two, Ghosh off the mark with a shove down the ground. She won’t take too many sighters, I wouldn’t think, but in the meantime, Harmanpreet drives through mid-off and that completes a frankly sensational class-is-permanent century – it looks so easy for her when she’s playing well. And as we said, Ghosh won’t wait to be asked, stepping away to free arms and zetz four over cover before taking a single to complete a 10-run over. India still have batting to come, too, so I’d expect them to properly go at these last three overs.
46th over: India 272-4 (Kaur 96, Ghosh 0) India might have enough runs already, but there’re plenty more out there for them; England will hope the breakthrough allows them to apply the brakes.
WICKET! Rodrigues c Jones b Filer 50 (India 272-4)
Filer tries a bumper so Rodrigues looks to pull, but instead gloves behind where Jones moves feet well to take a smart leg-side catch.
46th over: India 272-3 (Kaur 94, Rodrigues 50) Filer to finish off and after one to Harmanpreet, Rodrigues pulls for another single, raising her fifty off just 44 deliveries. I love how busy and positive she is at the crease.
45th over: India 269-3 (Kaur 94, Rodrigues 49) Smith returns – good luck old mate. Shonuff, Harmanpreet takes two, then smears four over mid-off – it looks so easy for her, but she’s got some kind of lower-back situation, taking treatment on the pitch Shubman Gill-style. That takes a few minutes, then she gets up and immediately sweeps four more, in perfect control; this really is a tremendous knock and, as I type the words, she retreats in her crease then gets down to loft another sweep over square leg. That’s 14 off the over with a ball to come, and a cover-drive first bats Beaumont’s drive, then runs away towards the fence, Dean running it down to save a fourth boundary. She’s one hit away from another century, and already, this total looks nasty.
44th over: India 252-3 (Kaur 77, Rodrigues 49) Filer begins with a wide, then drops short, offering width … and Harmanpreet lasers for to the fence, the partnership 79 off 61. There’s a lot of batting to come too, so these batters have no excuse for not going after it and, as I type, the sensational Harmanpreet launches four more down the ground, stepping back to power-stroke back over the bowler’s head. Eight off the over with four balls still to come, the next of which yields a single … and the one after four more, clumped by Jemimah through fine leg; a pull for two completes the scoring from the over, 16 runs all told, and Filer is 0-61 off nine.
43rd over: India 236-3 (Kaur 68, Rodrigues 46) Rodrigues comes down to Dean, two big strikes, turning a length-ball into a full toss and slamming four through cover. Gosh, and a sweep into the on-side totally foxes Lamb, the ball spinning away as she goes towards it, and that’s four more. A single follows, then Harmanpreet sweeps into the ground for a third boundary of an over which, thanks to a one and a two – the second featuring a misfield from the England captain – yields 16 runs.
42nd over: India 220-3 (Kaur 63, Rodrigues 32) Filer replaces Smith and after two singles from three deliveries, Harmanpreet stands and delivers, waiting on the crease to clout another over-pitched delivery over mid-on for four. Two further singles complete the over and India are building momentum.
41st over: India 212-3 (Kaur 57, Rodrigues 30) Rodrigues sweeps for one, then Harmanpreet misses a pull and they run a leg bye. India need boundaries now though, and the former quickly twinkles down the track to launch four over the infield and to cow corner. So Dean, aware she offered width, goes straighter … allowing Jemimah to sweep four more, before reversing a third boundary in a row. Excellent work from here, and that’s 14 off the over. India needed that.
40th over: India 198-3 (Kaur 57, Rodrigues 17) India have rarely looked troubled but they’ve also not got away and, when Smith begins with a pair of dots, there’s a bit of pressure to score. So Rodrigues gets down on one knee to sweep, misses, and wears ball on torso; she was outside the line, so when the appeal is rejected, there’s no review. A lapped single follows, the only run from the over, and India must surely up the pace now if there’s to be any point in their keeping wickets in hand.
39th over: India 197-3 (Kaur 57, Rodrigues 16) Rodrigues misses a sweep and wears the ball on the pad, but she was well outside the line; I really enjoy her composure at the crease, and how much fin she looks like she’s having. A sweep to deep square adds one to the total, then then two further singles complete a much better over for England, three from it.
38th over: India 194-3 (Kaur 56, Rodrigues 14) India are taking singles pretty easily now, two from the first two balls of Smith’s sixth over, and I’m sure the batters are plotting a boundary at some point. But when Harmanpreet steps a cross to glance down to third, they’ve to make do with a measly three, before three more singles make it eight off the over once more.
37th over: India 186-3 (Kaur 51, Rodrigues 6) I like Rodrigues, but I’d definitely have thought about sending Deepti in above her just because she’s playing so well and the longer you can get her in the middle, the better. India, though, know there’s little to come from England’s usual death-bowlers – as I type we’re told Ecclestone has never finished her spell as early in an innings. Meantime, Dean returns, and after Rodrigues takes a single, Harmanpreet flogs four through long on, raises her fifty with a single, and two more of those means a total eight runs from the over. India are starting to move.
36th over: India 178-3 (Kaur 45, Rodrigues 6) What’s a good score from here? India have wickets in hand and will surely want to get close to 300 if they can – six an over from here takes them to 265, but with Deepti to come, they’ve scope for a bit more despite the slow outfield. Smith, though, returns and though Rodrigues turns her loosener around the corner for two, four dots followed by single mean that’s a decent comeback over from Smith, three runs coming from it.
35th over: India 175-3 (Kaur 45, Rodrigues 6) India are set for a death onslaught but can they get it going from almost a standing start? Well, after two singles from two balls, Harmanpreet punishes a drag-down with a pull for four, and two further singles mean the over costs eight.
34th over: India 167-3 (Kaur 39, Rodrigues 4) I guess if we’re being generous, we’ll say England provoked that wicket by keeping it tight and attacking by keeping their best bowlers going, but it was a wild shot from Deol, who might’ve tried to bat through. Anyhow, the partnership ends at 81 and Ecclestone is going to bowl her final over in the hope of making further inroads. But after one run from four, Rodrigues gets off the mark with a nicely timed extra-cover drive, the over yielding five and Ecclestone finishing a typically excellent spell with 1-28 off 10.
WICKET! Deol c Sciver-Brunt b Bell 45 (India 162-3)
Bell bangs in and Deol forces it when she doesn’t have to, top-edging a cross-batted swipe to short midwicket. India have donated England a wicket they scarcely looked like conjuring.
33rd over: India 162-2 (Deol 45, Kaur 38) Bell hasn’t, I’m afraid, looked especially threatening today, and her first five deliveries yield four singles and a two.
32nd over: India 156-2 (Deol 43, Kaur 34) Ecclestone continues, Sciver-Brunt in greater need of a wicket now than an over later; that’s good, aggressive captaincy. But it doesn’t work, five dots followed by another gorgeous Harmanpreet cover-drive; it makes her the 17th batter to score 4000 ODI runs. There’ll be many, many more.
31st over: India 152-2 (Deol 43, Kaur 30) Bell bangs in and Deol uppercuts to wide third, Filer setting off too slowly to keep her to one. Two singles follow, then an off-side wide, and India are nicely set for a death slog, given they’ve Jemimah and Deepti yet to come.
30th over: India 147-2 (Deol 40, Kaur 29) With the partnership 61 off 71, Sciver-Brunt turns to Ecclestone, who has just three overs left, and brings the field up, looking to make something happen. Deol, though, doesn’t take the bait and look for the less well-guarded boundaries, getting down on one knee to heave a sweep for one … then just as another over from England’s best bowler is disappearing, Harmanpreet accepts the challenge, stepping down and making room to nail a picturebook extra-cover drive to the fence for four.
29th over: India 142-2 (Deol 39, Kaur 25) Bell replaces Smith as Sciver-Brunt continues her search for a breakthru; Harmanpreet turns her loosener away into the leg-side for one. Three dots follow, but Deol, ticking nicely, clears her front pad to mow across the line for four, before tickling a further single to cover.
28th over: India 136-2 (Deol 34, Kaur 24) Filer shapes one in and Harmanpreet, caught behind her pad, is struck on the back one. England appeal but they know it was high and possibly going down … but, as India as two singles and a wide, we’re shown that the batter was deep in her crease and a review would’ve seen her walking. That’s the second time that’s happened today.
27th over: India 131-2 (Deol 32, Kaur 22) Two singles then, offered width, Harmanpreet throws hands, clobbering a cut to the point fence for four. She’s starting to enjoy herself but, after a single, Deol looks to go bit … but skews an outside edge to third man … where it drops safe. Eight off the over, partnership burgeoning on which point has anyone ever used the word “burgeoning” in a non-sporting context?
26th over: India 123-2 (Deol 30, Kaur 16) Filer bangs in and Deol forces to deep backward square for one, then Harmanpreet tips and runs for one more. A further single follows then, offered a slot ball, the India captain takes a big step forward, then times a fantastic drive through backward point for four that looks ominous for England. Again, England could very much use a wicket.
“Re Billie Piper,” returns John Starbuck, “her face appeared at the end of Ncuti Gatwa’s last scene as the Doctor, which traditionally leads the audience to expect her as the next regenerated Doctor. There’s been a lot of argumentative fuss about this, as she was formerly a ‘companion’, though it reflects the last time the Doctor was female. Otherwise, they usually portray the regenerative process as a typical bit of TV magic (science).”
Got it. My wife is well into sci-fi so I’ve seen a million Babylon 5s, but she’s never prevailed upon me to watch the Dr.
25th over: India 115-2 (Deol 28, Kaur 10) Sciver-Brunt will want to fiddle as many overs out of Smith as she can, but Deol will know that so, after two dots she unloads the suitcase at one, skipping down to knuck inside-out, over mid-off for four. That’s a terrific strike, made all the more valuable when she squirts the next delivery to deep point for two, the scoreboard kept ticking over. A single completes the over, and the partnership is now 34 off 47; we’re halfway through the innings.
24th over: India 108-2 (Deol 21, Kaur 10) Sciver-Brunt restores Filer to the attack in place of Ecclestone; can she find her length in this spell? Earlier in the innings she was mainly too full too frequently, but she starts well here, only for Deol to flick her second delivery to deep square for two. A single follows, then Harmanpreet also takes two to deep square, making it five runs from the over.
23rd over: India 103-2 (Deol 18, Kaur 8) Harmanpreet mows into the on-side but picks out midwicket and they run one, raising India’s hundred in the process. Another single and a two follow, and that’s a much better over from Smith.
“Ecclestone has used the time since The Ashes to regenerate?” asks Nicholas Way. “Does that mean she’s now played by Billie Piper?”
I think this must be a Dr Who gag I don’t get.
22nd over: India 99-2 (Deol 17, Kaur 5) Ah, Ecclestone continues for a seventh over, Sciver-Brunt hoping she’ll break this partnership and that the batters won’t want to allow her a third straight maiden. Deol shoves her second ball to mid-off for one, then Harmanpreet twizzles to fine leg and they try to nick a single but was Deol’s bat grounded on the dive? The umpire wants a look … but it was fine.
21st over: India 97-2 (Deol 16, Kaur 4) Smith into the attack, beginning her spell with a no ball that a replay says was fine; what will Deol do with the free hit? She skips down and, offered width, thrashes over extra for four. She’s in now and, with one ball bowled and five conceded, the bowler is under pressure. She responds fairly well in the first instance, a single following when the ball skips up over Dean’s attempt to field, but then a lovely cover-drive punishes an over-pitched delivery; that’s Harmanpreet off the mark and 10 off the over.
20th over: India 87-2 (Deol 11, Kaur 0) Yup, Ecclestone continues, but Harmanpreet knows she’s gone in six deliveries, so plays circumspectly even when offered the sweep. An inside-edge meets the fifth ball, but it loops up and falls safe, where leg-slip isn’t, and Ecclestone completes a second consecutive maiden. That will, I imagine, be the end of her spell.
19th over: India 87-2 (Deol 11, Kaur 0) Deol drives for two then, after two dots, she forces a drive through extra, India’s first boundary in 70 deliveries. Six from the over but, with Harmanpreet on strike and yet to score, Sciver-Brunt will surely allow Ecclestone another over.
18th over: India 87-2 (Deol 5, Kaur 0) A wicket-maiden for Ecclestone, and this is a key passage of the match coming up.
WICKET! Mandhana c Dunkley b Ecclestone 45 (India 81-2)
Offered a drag-down, Mandhana realises she needs to take advantage, but her timing is offer and she uses her whole body looking to step away and pull, only to pick out short midwicket, where Dunkley takes a smart catch in front of her coupon. Huge breakthrough for England.
17th over: India 81-1 (Mandhana 45, Deol 5) Dean continues but still lacks attacking support from her fielders, spread around the park. She concedes three singles, India content to consolidate.
16th over: India 78-1 (Mandhana 43, Deol 4) Mandhana takes one to square leg, the only run of the over, and Ecclestone is settling into her spell now. Drinks.
