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India capped off a successful tour of England to clinch the ODI series 2-1 after securing a 13-run victory in the third and final ODI at Riverside Ground in Durham on Tuesday.
India’s victory was built on a dominating first innings total of 318, powered by a blistering 82-ball century from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (102). The Indian captain took a particularly heavy toll on the English middle-overs bowling of Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, and Lauren Filer.
AS IT HAPPENED: ENG-W vs IND-W 3rd ODI Highlights
Her knock was ably supported by contributions throughout the batting order. Smriti Mandhana and Harleen Deol (both 45) were at the top of the order, while Jemimah Rodrigues (50) scored a brisk half-century. Harmanpreet and Jemimah’s partnership was especially destructive, with the pair adding 110 from just 77 balls.
Richa Ghosh (38) added a final flourish to take India to its second-highest score against England. Sophie Ecclestone was the pick of the English bowlers, taking a predictably miserly 1-28 from her allocation of ten overs.
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England was left requiring a record chase for victory, and it was further set back when Kranti Goud removed openers Tammy Beaumont (2) and Amy Jones (4) cheaply.
Jones was dismissed by an incredible catch from Deepti Sharma, who dived full stretch to take a one-handed catch. The early dismissals set England back significantly as it limped to 22/2 from the first ten overs.
However, the English chase was given some hope by a battling partnership from captain Nat Sciver-Brunt (98) and Emma Lamb (68). The pair started slowly, but progressively increased the scoring rate to put on 162.
However, when N. Shree Charani removed Lamb, the game seemed to begin wrapping up. Deepti Sharma then removed the English skipper agonisingly short of her century to all but seal the result.
Sophia Dunkley (34), Charlie Dean (21), and Alice Davidson-Richards (44) all made useful lower-order contributions to bring England within touching distance of the target, but Kranti Goud returned to remove the latter two, before knocking over the tail to become the youngest Indian pacer to take a haul of five or more wickets.
