50 overs: England women 228 for 7 (Sciver 51, Taylor 45, Goswami 3-23, Poonam 2-36) v India women
03:04
Can India topple England at Lord’s?
Over the course of her fourth Women’s World Cup, Jhulan Goswami has gradually built up rhythm and menace. After a quiet round-robin phase, which only brought her five wickets in seven games, she bowled an important spell in India’s semi-final win, and dismissed Meg Lanning, the world’s best batsman, with the ball of the tournament.
Now, in the biggest game of the tournament, the biggest game of her 164-ODI career, Goswami turned in the display of a lifetime, her 3 for 23 the joint third-best figures by anyone in a Women’s World Cup final. Her new-ball spell – 5-2-9-0 – kept England’s run rate in check even while their openers scored at eight an over at the other end. Her second – 5-1-14-3 – ripped the heart out of England’s innings.
When Goswami began her second spell, Sarah Taylor and Nat Sciver had put on 70 for the fourth wicket, and England, 133 for 3 after 30 overs, may have set their sights on 270. When she ended her second spell, England were 168 for 6 after 40. Thanks to their batting depth, they continued to fight, and finished on 228 for 7.
It could still prove a testing total on a pitch that has belied its grassy look and turned out slow and decidedly low. But it is probably far less than what England may have aimed for after they chose to bat first, even after assessing the conditions at Lord’s.
With the new ball, Goswami hammered away on the shorter side of a good length, keeping in mind the lack of bounce and giving the openers nothing to drive. Shikha Pandey, finding plenty of swing into the right-handers, wasn’t as disciplined with her direction. She fed Tammy Beaumont’s leg glance and cover drive, and went out of the attack after going for 21 in her first three overs.
Spin replaced Pandey’s seam-up, and Lauren Winfield got going with three boundaries in Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s first over, driving her through cover point and lap-sweeping her twice. The sweep, though, proved to be her undoing; Gayakwad switched to left-arm over in her third over and bowled her around her legs.
Heather Knight was out sweeping as well, lbw to a non-spinning legbreak from Poonam Yadav. Then, Beaumont hoicked at a Poonam full-toss and holed out to deep square leg. England were 63 for 3.
Taylor, unlike her team-mates, avoided the sweep, instead using her feet to the spinners and scored most of her runs through drives and flicks in the mid-on/midwicket arc. She picked up her runs exclusively in singles and twos, and it was Sciver, walking in at No. 5, who provided the partnership its early muscle, lofting Deepti Sharma down the ground and slogging Poonam over midwicket.
Just as the partnership was threatening to take control of the game, and just when it appeared that India were overdoing spin from both ends, Goswami returned. Her first wicket had more than an element of luck to it, Taylor tickling one down the leg side, but her second, off the next ball, was a genuine bowler’s wicket – a full, straight ball to the new batsman that pinned Fran Wilson lbw. There seemed a touch of doubt about whether the ball would carry on to hit leg stump, but Wilson declined to review; ball-tracking later showed it would have returned an umpire’s call verdict.
Then, Sciver, having just passed 50, stepped out of her crease and across her stumps, and ended up playing all around her front pad against another full, straight ball. Goswami had punched England in the gut. They were now six down with the best part of 13 overs left to bat.
In Katherine Brunt, Jenny Gunn and Laura Marsh, however, England possess one of the best lower orders in the world, and they responded yet again to crisis. With Goswami’s 10 overs done, India’s wicket threat subsided as well, and England managed to score at a run a ball through their last 10 overs, milking the spinners for ones and twos while punishing the wayward Pandey.
Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo