Mumbai: At the Cricket Club of India, England captain Charlotte Edwards struck a splendid hundred (109 off 123 balls) as she led her side to an impressive 272 for eight in its 50 overs after being asked to bat. England’s total was built around the second-wicket partnership of 100 between Edwards and Sarah Taylor (35) in 22.5 overs. The England batters were kept in check by a flurry of run outs and a late burst by Niranjana Nagarajan.
India lost its top order quite cheaply as the responsibility of the chase fell on Harmanpreet Kaur and Karuna Jain.
The 106-run stand for the fourth wicket between Kaur and Jain appeared to put India on course till the 46th over. Kaur's maiden ODI hundred gave a lot of hope. But three wickets in three deliveries over two overs undid all the hardwork. England's Katherine Brunt did all the damage in the chase.
England captain Charlotte Edwards was relieved with the win: “It feels a lot better sitting here having won. Today was about character for our team, to play India in India, which is always going to be tough for us. I am very proud of the team today, it is very important that we continue the standards we have set today.
“We asked (our team) for a big performance today. That day (against SL) we dropped a few catches which really cost us. We didn’t get off to a great start. This is the England team I know and love and that is the standard we have got to set for ourselves for the rest of the tournament. The loss hurt the team and to come back like that, I am really proud of the team.”
Edwards also downplayed the fact that she has taken over as the leading run-getter in women’s ODIs. “I came into this game not in particularly great form, especially in one-day cricket, so for me to perform when the team needs me, it is probably up there with some of my best hundreds, in terms of the circumstances. As for the record it is about the team, it is not about me. That is something for me to look at, at the end of my career. Don’t get me wrong I am very proud of that, but Belinda Clark is a much better player than me.”
England's lead bowler Katherine Brunt said that her side was fired up by India captain Mithali Raj's comments that they did not have a strong bowling attack.
“Mithali’s comments fired us up, to be honest. We were already up for this game but once those comments were made, we worked even more (hard). I think that fuelled the fire. Anya and I did a decent job in the start and Holly showed us what a spinner can really do if we work hard and tight. Everybody made a contribution and if Mithali was wondering if only I was going to be bowling, there were three, four or five good bowlers out there.”
India’s Harmanpreet Kaur felt the loss of three wickets in three balls changed the course of the match.
“Yes at that time I felt that the match is turning completely because before that I knew that Amita Sharma and Niranjana were to bat and they are (the kind of players who would be) able to maintain the run rate that was going down. But they got out early and after that (it went downhill).’’
By Indian Sports News Network