Key events
Drinks: Lamb and Sciver-Brunt rebuild
15th over: England 55-2 (Lamb 22, Sciver-Brunt 23) Left-arm spin from both ends now, with Charani continuing. Sciver-Brunt reverse laps for two, a skilful shot but one she had to fetch from outside leg stump, and England take eight from the over without recourse to boundaries.
There was a run-out review against Lamb; replays confirmed the naked-eye impression that she was comfortably home.
Time for drinks. When play resumes, England will need 264 runs from 35 overs.
14th over: England 47-2 (Lamb 18, Sciver-Brunt 19) Yadav has another LBW appeal turned down against Sciver-Brunt. This one was more adjacent but there was an inside-edge.
Sciver-Brunt is not out! I called it correctly but my working was hopeless: the ball pitched on middle and leg, in fact, and would have slid past leg stump on the angle.
Sciver-Brunt missed a sweep at a very full delivery from the left-arm spinner Yadav. This is closer than I thought…
India review for LBW against Sciver-Brunt
I thought it pitched outside leg but the bowler – Radha Yadav, just into the attack – was very keen and talked Harmanpreet into a review.
13th over: England 42-2 (Lamb 15, Sciver-Brunt 17) With the essential caveat that I wouldn’t give England’s chances much more than tuppence, Lamb and Sciver-Brunt are playing this pretty well. They took time to adjust to the pitch, knowing that another early wicket would have been terminal, and now they are picking up at least a single off most deliveries.
In essence, while Sciver-Brunt is at the crease and England are no more than six or seven wickets down, they have an outside chance. Not a puncher’s chance, because we’ve had enough boxing for one day.
12th over: England 38-2 (Lamb 13, Sciver-Brunt 15) Sciver-Brunt sweeps Rana for four, an expertly placed shot to the right of short fine leg.
There’s still plenty to do but England have started to up the tempo. They’ve scored more runs in the last 14 deliveries than they did in the first 58.
11th over: England 30-2 (Lamb 12, Sciver-Brunt 9) The left-arm spinner Shree Charani replaces Kranti Gaud, who bowled an outstanding spell of 5-1-12-2. Lamb slices her first delivery past short third for a rare boundary, and four singles make it a decent over for England. The scoreboard has started to move.
England’s score of 22-2 is apparently their second lowest in an ODI powerplay. And that Sciver-Brunt boundary took her past 4000 ODI runs; no batter from any country has got there in fewer deliveries.
10th over: England 22-2 (Lamb 6, Sciver-Brunt 7) Sciver-Brunt is almost bowled by an offbreak from Rana that keeps a bit low. She did well, having shaped for a big shot, to react and drag the ball off middle stump.
Something has to give her. It does when, after 16 successive dot balls from Rana, Sciver-Brunt runs down the track to thump a boundary through the covers. As a result Rana has lamentable figures of 3-2-4-0.
9th over: England 18-2 (Lamb 6, Sciver-Brunt 3) England are trying to make an omelette without breaking any eggs. They don’t bat deep so they’re terrified of losing another wicket in the Powerplay; all the while the required rate is heading skyward.
Sciver-Brunt hits the field with a couple of cuts before stealing a single on the off side. That’s the only run from another superb over for India. England need 301 from 41 overs. Call me a pessimist if you like…
8th over: England 17-2 (Lamb 6, Sciver-Brunt 2) Lamb is trying to use her feet to the spinners but it doesn’t come naturally. She punches a straight drive that is stopped by Rana, then sweeps straight to short fine leg. Back-to-back maidens for Rana.
7th over: England 17-2 (Lamb 6, Sciver-Brunt 2) Sciver-Brunt works Gaud for a couple to finally get off the mark. She ends the over with a crisp cover drive that is brilliantly stopped by the diving Rodrigues, who is congratulated by her teammates when she bounces to her feet. India are all over England like a cheap cliche.
“Rob,” says John Starbuck. “I know people keep quoting a boxer with the line about ‘everyone has a plan…’ but Napoleon got there first: no plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
He probably nicked it from Sun Tzu.
6th over: England 15-2 (Lamb 6, Sciver-Brunt 0) The offspinner Sneh Rana starts with a maiden – but it could have been even better for India. Emma Lamb edged the last ball of the over and was dropped by the keeper Richa Ghosh. There was a decent deflection, which made it a pretty tough chance; even so, Ghosh would take that maybe seven times out of 10.
5th over: England 15-2 (Lamb 6, Sciver-Brunt 0) Sciver-Brunt, still on 0, edges Gaud fractionally short of slip. India’s intensity in the field is eye-catching – or rather ear-catching.
There’s nothing vicious – I’m not sure they’re even talking to the England batters – but their collective energy must be pretty intimidating. Especially when you’re 15 for 2 chasing plenty.
4th over: England 13-2 (Lamb 5, Sciver-Brunt 0) Lamb chips Sharma decisively over wide mid-on for four to get off the mark. NSB is still on 0 after 8 balls, which might seem odd but makes sense in the circumstances. England’s best chance of victory is a Sciver-Brunt epic, like the 2022 World Cup final but with a happier ending. A careful start gives her a bigger chance of doing something miraculous.
“You’ll catch the end of Pointless at this rate, Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Or at least get to see the darts. Been dramatic in Blackpool so far…”
3rd over: England 8-2 (Lamb 0, Sciver-Brunt 0) I didn’t realise Gaud was on a hat-trick, having struck with the last ball of her first over and the first of her second. Nat Sciver-Brunt defends the hat-trick ball but is unable to get off the mark for the rest of the over. A wicket maiden is a decent second prize for Gaud.
Jones threw the bat at a wide, full delivery from Gaud and sliced the ball towards gully. It seemed to be past Deepti Sharma, who dived backwards to her right to take a stunning one-handed catch. Outrageous! That’s a microcosm of the whole tour; India have wiped the floor with England in the field.
WICKET! England 8-2 (Jones c Sharma b Gaud 4)
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Amy Jones has fallen to a stunning catch and England are in all sorts, already.
2nd over: England 8-1 (Jones 4, Lamb 0) The offspinner Deepti Sharma shares the new ball and rushes through an over that costs just one. The new batter Emma Lamb, who is more comfortable against pace early on, played out four dot balls to end the over.
1st over: England 7-1 (Jones 3, Lamb 0)
WICKET! England 7-1 (Beaumont b Gaud 2)
Kranti Gaud starts the innings with a big no-ball, which allows Amy Jones to drag the free hit over midwicket for three runs. Her opening partner Tammy Beaumont works two off the pads and then survives a big LBW shout. It did too much and would have missed leg stump.
No matter, because the last ball of the over gets the job done. Beaumont has been bowled by a jaffa – a similar delivery to the LBW appeal, except this one was perfectly pitched and came back through to the gate to hit the top of off. The perfect start for India.
England will make history if they pull this off. No team has scored 319 or more batting second to win a women’s ODI. In fact, only one team has chased more than 300, Sri Lanka against South Africa last year.
England, whose openers are about to take the field, have quite the job on.
Thanks Daniel, hello everyone. Jemimah Rodrigues, interviewed on Sky Sports, reckons India made a “fighting total”. The pundits don’t entirely concur. The unspoken consensus is that India have a fighting chance in the same way Mike Tyson had a fighting chance every time he entered a boxing ring between 1985 and 1989.
That, then is me. Rob Smyth will be with you shortly to call England home, but otherwise, peace aht.
Between-innings reading:
That was shockingly competent from India. Not that it wasn’t obvious that they’re good, more that they calmly put away the bad balls with extreme prejudice, saw out the better bowlers and tougher moments, then properly got after it at the end. England have the firepower to chase this, but it’ll need something very special to even make it close.
India set England 319 to win ODI series
50th over: India 318-5 (Ghosh 38, Yadav 2) Sorry, one ball: Yadav gets away to midwicket, then Ghosh bottom-edges high … just over Allen, and just over the fence for six! Two more follow, ad it’s worth noting that India have compiled this phat total without even needing Deepti; that’s some terrifying power, right there. An tennis-slap down the ground adds two more, likewise a lovely-sounding hollow loft back over the bowler’s head, and that completes a near-perfect dig from India. Well, well batted.
49th over: India 305-5 (Ghosh 26, Yadav 1) Yadav forces to cover to get off the mark and when Ghosh can’t get away the final delivery of Smith’s spell – the analysis of which reads 1-74 – Bell will have a full over at Yadav to complete the innings.
WICKET! Kaur c Sciver-Brunt b Smith 1-02 (India 304-5)
Harmanpreet drives hard but uppishly, and Sciver-Brunt, diving as the ball lasers past her, takes a decent catch. A quality knock from a quality player.
49th over: India 304-4 (Kaur 102, Ghosh 26) It’s been an uncomfortable innings for Smith, whose first ball is swept to deep backward square by Ghosh; to win the series, England must now complete their highest-ever chase. A dot follows, then a hard pull heads straight to Filer … who kind of leaps past it, putting the chance down.
48th over: India 299-4 (Kaur 102, Ghosh 21) Bell is back and Ghosh flicks into the leg-side for two, then turns a slot-ball into a half-volley, stepping away again to fizz four through cover. The power in India’s batting lineup is seriously serious, but when Ghosh slaps to cover, they try for a second run and does Harmanpreet make it back to the non-striker’s? Just, the full-length drive saving her, but in comms, Butch is irritated Lamb wasn’t in sharply enough nor her throw good enough, and England are punished, Ghosh annihilating a slower-ball over wide mid-off for the first six of the innings. England’s fielding needs some attention, and a one then a two make it 17 off the over; India have paced this beautifully.
Harmanpreet Kaur raises her century
47th over: India 282-4 (Kaur 100, Ghosh 6) It’s Smith in again and her first three balls go for two ones and a two, Ghosh off the mark with a shove down the ground. She won’t take too many sighters, I wouldn’t think, but in the meantime, Harmanpreet drives through mid-off and that completes a frankly sensational class-is-permanent century – it looks so easy for her when she’s playing well. And as we said, Ghosh won’t wait to be asked, stepping away to free arms and zetz four over cover before taking a single to complete a 10-run over. India still have batting to come, too, so I’d expect them to properly go at these last three overs.
46th over: India 272-4 (Kaur 96, Ghosh 0) India might have enough runs already, but there’re plenty more out there for them; England will hope the breakthrough allows them to apply the brakes.
WICKET! Rodrigues c Jones b Filer 50 (India 272-4)
Filer tries a bumper so Rodrigues looks to pull, but instead gloves behind where Jones moves feet well to take a smart leg-side catch.
46th over: India 272-3 (Kaur 94, Rodrigues 50) Filer to finish off and after one to Harmanpreet, Rodrigues pulls for another single, raising her fifty off just 44 deliveries. I love how busy and positive she is at the crease.
45th over: India 269-3 (Kaur 94, Rodrigues 49) Smith returns – good luck old mate. Shonuff, Harmanpreet takes two, then smears four over mid-off – it looks so easy for her, but she’s got some kind of lower-back situation, taking treatment on the pitch Shubman Gill-style. That takes a few minutes, then she gets up and immediately sweeps four more, in perfect control; this really is a tremendous knock and, as I type the words, she retreats in her crease then gets down to loft another sweep over square leg. That’s 14 off the over with a ball to come, and a cover-drive first bats Beaumont’s drive, then runs away towards the fence, Dean running it down to save a fourth boundary. She’s one hit away from another century, and already, this total looks nasty.
44th over: India 252-3 (Kaur 77, Rodrigues 49) Filer begins with a wide, then drops short, offering width … and Harmanpreet lasers for to the fence, the partnership 79 off 61. There’s a lot of batting to come too, so these batters have no excuse for not going after it and, as I type, the sensational Harmanpreet launches four more down the ground, stepping back to power-stroke back over the bowler’s head. Eight off the over with four balls still to come, the next of which yields a single … and the one after four more, clumped by Jemimah through fine leg; a pull for two completes the scoring from the over, 16 runs all told, and Filer is 0-61 off nine.