India’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma showcased her remarkable skills in the first One Day International (ODI) against England, helping her team secure a four-wicket victory with ten balls to spare. The scene during the final match held this year at historic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Sharma finished an unbeaten innings of 62, anchoring a successful run chase of 259 runs to help India start its summer with a bang in this exciting three-match series.
After losing a pair of early wickets, the Indian team was off the ropes and on their way, largely due to Sharma’s measured knock. Her knock was a stage to celebrate India’s consolidated batting depth. She never dropped below a run rate of a run-a-ball during her innings. This method of applying pressure made sure that the pressure was controllable, giving her teammates the chance to make a play without rushing or forcing anything.
India’s chase didn’t start well, as they quickly lost wickets in quick succession. Though Sharma did not score quickly from the start, he anchored the innings, showing great composure under pressure. It is then her gritty performance helped India pull off an extremely necessary win. It was their second-highest successful chase in ODIs, further emphasizing their increasing dominance in the format.
Sharma’s 62 not out has been widely touted as a match-winner, highlighting her pivotal role in the Indian side. If pressure success is indeed a skill, then Harmanpreet’s capacity for it has been no small power in India’s excellent beginning to this series. With this win, India lead 1-0 against England and have started on a winning note in the first test match.
“It’s not all doom and gloom but if I’m Charlotte Edwards, I would be grading different parts of the game. The ground fielding needs some serious work.” – Ebony Rainford-Brent
Edwards praised the Indians for their success, but noted aspects that required work even after their win, most notably in fielding on the ground. That might be important later on in the series, particularly with one of the strongest Indian sides seen in recent times who are well and truly gaining in confidence.
England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt commended her side for bouncing back to post a formidable total after losing early wickets. Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards made appearing super easy look really, really enjoyable. To get to that total from 90-4 was outstanding, just unfortunately we didn’t have enough runs,” she said. After Sciver-Brunt replayed to slow the match situation and said, “280 is probably a par score.” This really serves to underscore the challenges that the English will have as they prepare for a rematch.
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