India captain Harmanpreet Kaur led her team to a thrilling 13-run victory over England at Chester-Le-Street, clinching the 3-match One-Day International (ODI) series 2-1. Kaur’s commanding century, a 102 off 84 balls, anchored India’s innings as they posted a formidable total of 318 for 5. Jemimah Rodrigues’ half-century and valuable contributions from Smriti Mandhana and Harleen Deol, who each scored 45, helped set a challenging target of 319 for England.
England fought back strongly with a resilient partnership of 162 runs for the third wicket between Nat Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb. Sciver-Brunt narrowly missed out on a century herself, departing for 98 runs. However, England’s chase faltered in the closing stages, losing four wickets in the final five overs. Kranti Goud emerged as the hero with the ball, claiming 6 wickets for 52 runs, dismantling England’s batting lineup and ultimately securing the series victory for India.
Post-match reflections focused on England’s need for improvement, especially in fielding. England head coach Charlotte Edwards acknowledged the team’s low confidence after the Ashes but expressed positivity about their progress: “I’m seeing improvement, and I don’t really care what anyone else thinks. I’m seeing it because I’m working with these players day in, day out and that’s the most important thing.”
She was candid about the journey ahead: “I’m not saying we’re the finished article or we’re going to win a World Cup but we’re hoping to improve and become one of the best teams in the world.” Edwards also highlighted the squad’s potential, saying, “We’ve just got some fine-tuning to do, we’re not a million miles away. We’ve got some world-class players.”
Analyst Charles Dagnall, however, was critical of England’s performance, particularly in fielding. He remarked, “I can’t tell you how far off England are in the field. They are night and day in comparison and anyone who has thoughts about England winning the World Cup, they are not going to do it based on the performances that we have seen.”
Despite this stern critique, he commended the choice of Charlotte Edwards as coach to lead the rebuilding process, “England have absolutely rubber-stamped and got the best person in charge to try and turn this around in Charlotte Edwards. She speaks so much sense… I don’t see a problem with the batting but the work that they’ve got to do is in the field.”
On being asked by Nick Knight of what pleased Edwards the most, she replied, “Our batting that was the one thing coming out of winter and me taking on the role, I wanted us to be able to bat in a way that we’re smart, that we took great options, and we took the games deep”.
Nick Knight concludes by asking Edwards for an injury update on Heather Knight and whether Nat Sciver-Brunt will be able to bowl in the upcoming World Cup, to which Edwards responds, “Heather Knight, is she going to be fit to play in the World Cup, and Nat, she is going to be fit to bowl for the World Cup, that’s really exciting. I think that’s another aspect of this series we’ve been missing one of our best batters and we still scored 300 three times and to have her into this team and her experience around the group as well is really important.”
With the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka later this year—from September 30 to November 2—both teams will surely look to build on their performances from this competitive ODI series.
(Quotes sourced from Sky Sports)
