Nat Sciver-Brunt leads England past India despite Renuka Singh five-for
Renuka's career-best haul and good knocks from Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh fail to prevent England from closing in on semi-final spot
Renuka's career-best haul and good knocks from Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh fail to prevent England from closing in on semi-final spot
Scorer: K Vairavan | Commentator: S Sudarshanan
Right then! England win but remember, they are not yet through to the semi-final. Group 2 is still open. Meanwhile, the action between South Africa and Australia will kickoff soon. So do switch over there. On behalf of Vishal and Vairavan, this is Sudarshanan bidding goodbye.
6:52pm Time for the presentation now!
Harmanpreet Kaur, India captain: "We started really well but in the middle over, we didn't bowl according to plan and lost the momentum. In batting we were doing well but unfortunately weren't able to get the run rate needed. Whenever Renuka is bowling, we are looking for wickets. She enjoys bowling. We were speaking about DLS also but wanted to go with the rhythm. In between when rain came, we were 10-12 runs behind but we knew with Mandhana and Ghosh, we would cover that. Sometimes when you are behind, you have to take charge, which is where we lost Jemi and my wicket."
Heather Knight, England captain: "We talk about batting as per conditions and Nat and I did that. Amy was fantastic and it's good to see that our batting group showed character even after 29 for 3. THakur at front was outstanding, moving the ball both ways is tough. You want the boundaries but you have to take ones and twos and that manipulated the field for us. We haven't really played against a big team recently and to play like this against this Indian team was fantastic. Ecclestone and Glenn varied pace brilliantly. [Fielding] Our ground fielding was the best we did in the competition. Need to take catches and can't drop players like Mandhana."
6:17pm Deserving award for NSB. England were in a strife in the powerplay, when Renuka picked up three wickets. But along with Knight, she wrested back the control before she accelerated in the company of Jones. Chasing 151 was going to be tough and even more so when India lost Shafali and then couldn't get the desired momentum. Bell and the spin kept a check on Indian batters with even a set Mandhana unable to break the shackles. Eventually it was a very tall ask for Ghosh.
6:11pm India's lack of power costs them with the bat eventually! And how would they have benefited with more strike to Ghosh after Mandhana's fall. Ghosh is dejected but then shakes hands and walks out. She's yet again put in a valiant effort, but didn't get the desired support from the other end. Should India have sent Vastrakar ahead of Deepti? Did they play too cautiously in the first ten overs? Lots of questions that India will have to find answers to. England extend their record against India at T20 World Cups to 6-0.
Nat Sciver-Brunt, Player of the Match: "It was tough. They were getting to seam around, Renuka bowled brilliantly. It was important to take the attack to them. If I get any in the middle of the bat, it is a nice feeling. We looked a little bit different today. Didn't get to a quick start. In the middle it was important to not forget about the boundaries. Amy did well. Fielding in front of the bands was good. I got caught whistling along and clapping along. Brilliant to play in front of people who want to watch us."
Free hit. Field can't change.
Renuka's career-best haul and good knocks from Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh fail to prevent England from closing in on semi-final spot
"She bowled really well with the new ball and that's something batters will look at in case we come up against India again," says Sophie Ecclestone