EN W VS IN W MATCH 15

That's a wrap to this lopsided game. England Women are off the mark now and have got a better NRR than the two teams above them on the table. They would be hoping to ride the momentum from here on. For India Women, it was a mediocre batting show that cost them the game but they will take a lot of positives from their effort in the field. On Thursday, 17th March 2022, New Zealand Women will clash with South Africa Women at 6.30 am IST (1 am GMT). You can tune in early for the build-up. Until then, it's goodbye and cheers!

Heather Knight, the skipper of England Women, says that they needed this win and it is nice to get over the line. She hopes that this will bring momentum. Mentions that they were brilliant with the ball and they showed a lot of fight and character. Shares that the pitch was a bit slow. States that she didn't score much in the last few games and desperately wanted to finish things off in this game. Mentions that the cricketing gods were with them and praises Natalie Sciver for her knock as well. Knight also congratulates Jhulan Goswami for completing 250 wickets in ODIs and calls it a great achievement.

Mithali Raj, the captain of India Women, says that they failed to get partnerships up the order and this is something that didn't go their way despite having the chance to bat first. Adds that when you lose, you always think you were a few runs short. Feels that a total above 200 would have been challenging and the match would have gone either way. Tells that they have improved their bowling and fielding. Mentions that they have to work on their batting and need to be at their best against Australia Women who are on a winning spree. Regarding Jhulan Goswami completing 250 wickets in ODIs, Mithali replies that it's an honour to play alongside her and it's not easy for a fast bowler to play at the highest level consistently.

Charlotte Dean (8.2-1-23-4) is chosen for the Player of the Match award. Says that she was not expecting this at the start of the game and is very happy with her performance. Adds that she tried to keep it simple and tried to stay with her strength. Mentions that it gets quite easy to bowl alongside Sophie Ecclestone and adds that it is great to be around her on and off the field. She dedicates the award to her father.

Presentation time...

In pursuit of a below-par target, England Women suffered a couple of early setbacks as the Indian players showed a lot of intensity in Powerplay 1. It was all about absorbing the pressure at that time for the defending champions and the presence of Heather Knight and Natalie Sciver offered them the experience to exactly do that. They combined for a 65-run stand and then Knight formed another alliance with Amy Jones to take England closer to the target. Towards the end, Sophia Dunkley played a nice cameo and England Women crossed the line, although by losing a few unnecessary wickets.

This win was set up by the English bowlers who vindicated the decision of Heather Knight to bowl first on a good batting deck. Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole stuck to fuller-length deliveries and got decent movement to keep the Indian batters in check. The spin duo of Sophie Ecclestone and Charlotte Dean then joined forces in the middle overs and completely sucked the life out of the Indian innings. They bowled tidily along with picking wickets and never allowed India Women to recover.

Relief in the camp of England Women as they finally open their account in this edition of the ICC Women's World Cup. After losing three close games, Heather Knight and her girls will be taking a huge sigh of relief to end the drought and perhaps the bad luck as well. Fielding - Tick. Bowling - Tick. Heather Knight's form - Tick. England Women successfully fixed all the issues. This kind of commanding performance in all the facets of the game will pack them with immense confidence as they move ahead in this journey to defend their title.

FOUR! Here come the winning runs! Meghna Singh bends her back to go short and delivers it around off, Sophie Ecclestone rides the bounce and pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary. England Women win by 4 wickets and 112 balls to spare!

Wide! Sliding down the leg side, Sophie Ecclestone tries to flick but misses.

Fuller and around off, pushed down to mid on.

Fullish and around off, punched down the ground but straight to mid off.

Harmanpreet Kaur seems to have hurt herself! The physio is out there and she gets some treatment on her left leg. She is getting up now but seems to find it hard to walk. Harmanpreet Kaur is going off the field now and it is a good decision as she is a very important player for India and there is no point risking her here.

Fine stop by Harmanpreet Kaur but she has injured herself in the process. Fullish and on middle, Sophie flicks it to the right of mid on. Kaur moves in that direction, puts in a slide but her left knee gets stuck on the ground. A single is taken and Harmanpreet Kaur has stayed down.

Back of a length, close to off, Sophie Ecclestone plays it down from the back foot point. Looks for a run but it's not on.

Angling it in around middle and leg, Sophie Ecclestone flicks it off her pads but finds mid-wicket.

Fuller and closer to off, Heather Knight eases it gently through covers and takes a single. 5 needed more.