WWT20: England eves sneak past India by two wkts

22 March, Dharmsala

England eves survived India’s spin scare to edge past the hosts by two wickets in the low scoring group match of the ICC Women’s World T20 at the picturesque HPCA stadium here Tuesday.

Chasing a paltry 91, England struggled to get to the Indian score as the spinners led by left-armer Ekta Bisht four-for wrecked havoc to take the match to the penultimate over.

England were off to a poor start as skipper Charlotte Edwards (4) failed to repeat her match-winning performance against Bangladesh in the previous match but Tammy Beaumont (20) and keeper Sarah Taylor (16) steadied the innings with a 32-run stand for the second wicket.

However, India bounced back well with some disciplined bowling and fielding efforts to put England on the backfoot. As soon as spin was introduced, wickets began to tumble with both Ekta (four for 21) and Harmanpreet Kaur (two for 22) stifling the English batters.

Wicketkeeper Sushma Verma’s two consecutive stumpings also complimented the efforts of the bowlers.Towards the end, the English batters, in their hurry to overhaul the target, also threw their wickets as Ekta and Rajeshwari Gayakwad effected two brilliant run-outs.