It was a day to forget for Indian cricket fans as both men’s and women’s teams faced defeats. While the men’s team’s loss in an Australian pitch, with some very less practice sessions and repeated rain interruptions, was somewhat understandable, but the women’s team failed to taste victory once again on home soil.
They were on a rope to win the match against England, but a last-moment slip meant the fans were left disappointed.
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In a thrilling ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup encounter, India’s women’s team narrowly lost to England by 4 runs. Chasing a challenging target of 289 after England had posted 288/8, the Indian side finished agonizingly short at 284/6 in their 50 overs.
The chase was powered by brilliant innings from the top order. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana top-scored for India with a magnificent 88, while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur contributed a crucial 70. Their 125-run partnership brought India within touching distance of the target.
Later, Deepti Sharma fought valiantly with a half-century, scoring 50 before falling in the 47th over.
For England, Captain Heather Knight was the star of the show, anchoring the innings with a superb 109 off 91 balls. She was well-supported by Amy Jones, who made 56. With the ball, Indian spinner Deepti Sharma was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 4/51, while Sree Charani took 2/68.
England’s bowlers, led by Nat Sciver-Brunt (2/47), managed to hold their nerve in the final overs.
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This defeat means India has now won 2 and lost 3 matches in the World Cup so far. To still qualify for the semi-finals from here, the team needs to win at least one of their two remaining league matches to reach six points, and potentially both to guarantee a top-four finish without relying heavily on other results and Net Run Rate. The pressure is now immense for the Women in Blue to bounce back immediately.