End of the match: Mithali speaks about the lack of partnerships with the bat, Heather Knight can’t stop smiling. It’s been a tough old few weeks for them.

POINTS TABLE: This is where all eyes are on. India’s NRR has gone down from +1.33 to +0.63. England’s NRR has been decent throughout and now goes up to +0.35 to -0.16.

Over 31.2: Meghna Singh to Sophie Ecclestone 4 runs And fittingly Ecclestone, who has been unfortunate to be on the losing side last two matches, hits the winning runs and has a big smile. England 136/6, win by 4 wickets

England 131/6 after 31 overs: Some concerning moments there for Team India. Harmanpreet Kaur’s knee gets stuck a bit on the turf and she looks in pain. Decent sign, however, that she is able to walk off the field without support... but limping more as she enters the dressing room.

WICKET! 29.3: Katherine Brunt 0(2) ct Richa Ghosh b Meghna Singh Meghna Singh has been great today and she another. Another big shot attempted, Ghosh takes a catch. Too little too late for India. England 128/6

WICKET! 29.1: Sophia Dunkley 17(21) ct Richa Ghosh b Meghna Singh End of a fantastic little innings from Dunkley. Made sure momentum wasn’t lost. Wickets lost don’t matter for NRR, mind you. England 128/5

Nasser Hussain on air: “Personally, I’d go Shafali Verma. To beat Australia, you don’t need good; you need exceptional. And she can provide you with exceptional. May not be her day, she might not get any. But to beat Australia, you can’t just plod along, you need above par and she can provide that.”

HALF CENTURY! Heather Knight, captain’s knock. Came in when England were in a bit of bother. And has played a solid, near-chanceless hand. Dunkley then hits two fours to spoil Meghna’s sensational bowling figures.

England 109/4 after 27 overs: Dunkley too looking for boundaries. Gets one off Gayakwad. Meghna, meanwhile, bowls yet another maiden over before that.

WICKET! 24.4: Amy Ellen Jones 10(28) ct Harmanpreet Kaur b Rajeshwari Gayakwad England are going for big runs, quick runs... and Jones falls after hitting a six in that over. Lovely, lovely high catch by Kaur. She has taken some blinders in her career, and this also helps India keep up their catching efficiency. England 102/4

England 95/3 after 24 overs: Heather Knight taking on Deepti Sharma... again. Wonder what Trevor Griffin must be feeling.

Jhulan with the 2nd over of her 2nd spell.

Scores corrected in the previous updates.

England 88/3 after 22 overs: Deepti Sharma to Heather Knight and our mind goes back to this. The England captain hits a reverse sweep for four.

England 80/3 after 20 overs: England remain on course for their first win, and seemingly, a crucial NRR boost too. A four in that Gayakwad over.

WICKET! 16.6: Natalie Sciver 45(46) ct Jhulan Goswami b Pooja Vastrakar A lovely innings from Sciver comes to a rather soft end. We saw her put those kind of balls away pat midwicket for four but a bit tentative there and it loops up to Jhulan. England 69/3

When you know luck is a fickle thing in sport! Sciver deserves it, you could say.

England 60/2 after 16 overs: Good over from Gayakwad... just one run. Vastrakar from the other end.

England 59/2 after 15 overs: Nat Sciver is starting to do Nat Sciver things. She is on song at the moment! Back-to-back fours off Sneh Rana. Time for drinks and we guess it’s officially time for India to try and limit damage here.

England 48/2 after 13 overs: Sciver’s too good to miss out on short of length balls. Pulls Vastrkar superbly for four.

England 43/2 after 13 overs: If there is any little hope left for India, it depends on how much drift Sneh Rana can get here early. Hint of that in the over, but must agree with Manjrekar on air... incredibly more difficult for a spinner to have that impact when batters are not going to go for shots. No reason for England to take her on.

Sneh Rana time, needs to do a Charlie Dean!

England 41/2 after 12 overs: Some good shots in that Vastrakar over but finding the fielders.

End of the powerplay, England 34/2. Two brilliant early wickets for India, nearly had Sciver out but otherwise England are now back on track.

England 33/2 after 9 overs: This has been going for far too long, now hasn’t it? India leave the sweep open for their spinners, the good batters will sweep. And sweep well. Repeat ad nauseam. Two fours for Sciver in that Gayakwad over.

England 24/2 after 8 overs: No shortage of energy on the field for now, Kaur saves a four at mid-on.

England 21/2 after 7 overs: JG has just bowled a few more boundary balls than she would like in her first spells at this CWC. Meghna Singh will continue with figures of 3-2-4-1

England 17/2 after 6 overs: WOW! Nat Sciver, after her bizarre dismissal against South Africa, now sees a bizarre non-dismissal. The ball rolls on to the stump but the bails don’t fall. Maiden over from Meghna Singh after that.

WICKET! 2.6: Tammy Beaumont 1(10) lbw Jhulan Goswami ODI WICKET NO 250! Jhulan Goswami, take a bow. Great review by India, pad first and Tammy Beaumont is LBW. England 4/2

For once, Jhulan being hugged >> a Jhulan Hug.

England 3/1 after 2 overs: A wicket-maiden to start off by Meghna.

WICKET! 1.1: Danielle Wyatt 1(3) ct Sneh Rana b Meghna Singh WICKET FIRST BALL! The ball just stood on Wyatt (who loves batting against India) and Rana takes a really good catch at wide slip. England 3/1

England 3/0 after 1 over: Jhulan with a steady over. Good line and length early. Meghna Singh from the other end, no early spin for now.

If there are twists left in this match, it will have to come from Indian spinners & come early, you’d imagine. Beaumont & Wyatt in the middle.

Innings break:

India 134 all out in 36.2 overs: If you want something nice to watch...

Innings break: Here’s a personal opinion. When the messaging is repeatedly that “individuals must deliver”, “individuals must put their hands up”, this sort of performance is always on the cards, no? On the day, individual talents come through, cool. But is it sustainable in a tournament?

WICKET! 36.2: Meghna Singh 3(12) b Charlie Dean Had to be Charlie Dean, didn’t it? Her fourth, she finishes with 4/23. India 134/10

India 133/9 after 36 overs: Like Nasser Hussain, I am amazed at this field England are bowling to. They do know India’s tail rarely wags right?

India 130/9 after 35 overs: It’s all England on All England day (Get it, badminton fans?)

WICKET! 33.5: Jhulan Goswami 20(26) ct Danielle Wyatt b Kate Cross And another. Wyatt takes a good catch at point and JG’s entertaining little cameo is over. Cut straight to the fielder. India 129/9

WICKET! 33.1: Richa Ghosh 33(56) Run Out Natalie Sciver Oh dear! Richa Ghosh puts in the dive but she hasn’t grounded her bat! India 123/8

India 120/7 after 32 overs: SIX! Well that brought a smile to almost everyone’s faces (even Kate Cross). Jhulan Goswami with a mighty swing of the bat and it goes all the way. Richa gets a streaky four. Rare good over for India (12), time for drinks.

India 103/7 after 30 overs: Richa Ghosh goes past 25 and is giving some semblance of hope for her side. She is doing what she told Pooja during the review. Playing with the straight bat. Hardly any sweeps, given she also got out that way.

India 98/7 after 28 overs: The spinners have put on the brakes and then chained India to a brick wall. Time for Kate Cross.

India 93/7 after 26 overs: Lovely lofted cover drive from Richa for four. Jhulan G is with her in the middle. It will pretty much be all these two can add for India, one would think.

WICKET! 24.3: Pooja Vastrakar 6(9) lbw Charlie Dean CHARLIE DEAN! She will have her wicket. DRS saves Pooja Vastrakar once but not the 2nd time. Sweep & sweep, not out once... plumb next. Richa seemed to tell Pooja she had to play with a straight bat, can’t disagree there. India 86/7

REPRIEVE: Pooja Vastrkar nearly walked off without reviewing that didn’t she? Richa Ghosh, seemed to have reminded her.

India 81/6 after 23 overs: Aggression from Pooja, almost costs her. Aggression from Richa, goes for four. India looking to counterattack?

WICKET! 21.4: Smriti Mandhana 35(58) lbw Sophie Ecclestone It’s a nightmare that India can’t wake up from at the moment. Mandhana, who was looking the most assured among India batters, is gone! Given out LBW and DRS doesn’t save her. Joy for Ecclestone! India 71/6

India 67/5 after 21 overs: 3-1-3-2 For Charlie Dean at the moment. Dream spell.

India 66/5 at the end of 20 overs. Maiden from Ecclestone. So much pressure on Mandhana here though...

India 66/5 after 19 overs: Mandhana would do well to not go into a shell here, that can only spell trouble.

England and the barest of margins, I tell you.

India 64/5 after 18 overs: Mandhana is joined by Richa in the middle. Huge rebuild.

WICKET! 16.4: Sneh Rana 0(2) ct Amy Ellen Jones b Charlie Dean CHARLIE DEAN! Sneh Rana gets another in her first over, not dissimilar delivery but Rana went for a flamboyant drive while Kaur played a defensive shot. India 61/5

WICKET! 16.2: Harmanpreet Kaur 14(26) ct Amy Ellen Jones b Charlie Dean The offspinner gets Harmanpreet Kaur in the first over and England are having one of the days where bowling changes, fielding placements (and performance) are all clicking. India 61/4

India 58/3 after 15 overs: Still not consistent with her radar but that’s a decent over from Sciver. Harman could put away a short ball but that seemed to stop on the pitch. Worth keeping an eye on.

India 55/3 after 14 overs: Cautiously played out, Ecclestone goes for just one run. India will look to play her out perhaps like SA did? Her battle with #Harmandhana could well decide the course of this match. Time for drinks.

Ecclestone time!

India 54/3 after 13 overs: Sciver’s struggle with her lines have resurfaced briefly there. Cover driven brilliantly for four, then she strays down the leg side a couple of times. Lucky neither went for four thanks to Beaumont’s brilliance.

India 44/3 after 12 overs: A slightly streaky four past the slip but Harman did play that with soft hands. That might be that for Shrubsole for now.

India 39/3 after 11 overs: Another tidy Sciver over, and now Shrubsole gets her 6th of the spell.

India’s first 10 overs with the bat in the tournament so far: 

 vs PAK: 33/1 

vs NZ: 26/2 

 vs WI: 62/2 

vs ENG: 37/3  

India 37/3 after 10 overs: A boundary for Mandhana in the Shrubsole over as India finish the powerplay without further damage.

India 30/3 after 9 overs: If #Harmandhana get at least half of their 184-run partnership now from the previous match, India can heave a sigh of relief. This is otherwise not looking good. Solid first over from Sciver.

WICKET! 7.6: Deepti Sharma 0(10) Run Out Kate Cross Did we use the word nightmare already? It is now. Shocking running between the wickets! Deepti not even in the frame. All the pressure of dot balls, wanted to get off strike. India 28/3

India 27/2 after 7 overs: A wicket-maiden from Shrubsole followed by a 2-run over from Brunt. England all over India at the moment.

WICKET! 5.2: Mithali Raj 1(5) ct Sophia Dunkley b Anya Shrubsole ENGLAND STRIKE AGAIN! Mithali Raj’s run of low scores in this tournament continues. She is out for 1, Shrubsole has 2. England’s energetic start has been rewarded. Dunkley with a sharp low catch, needed a closer look and it’s gone in cleanly. India 25/2

India 18/1 after 4 overs: Mithali is in the middle. She is in need of some runs.

WICKET! 3.4: Yastika Bhatia 8(11) b Anya Shrubsole Yastika Bhatia was timing the ball alright but she is bowled by a brilliant Shrubsole delivery. England have the early wicket. A century for Shrubsole. (Flashbacks of Mandhana’s dismissal in Shrubsole’s first over at Lord’s) India 18/1

India 13/0 after 3 overs: A lovely timed four by Bhatia past mid on.

India 6/0 after 2 overs: Unlike New Zealand, who blocked up the inner-ring on the offside, England are leaving gaps, inviting the drives. Poor running, says Nasser, as Mandhana plays a lovely drive that nearly goes for four, but get just a two.

India 3/0 after 1 over: After that near run out, Bhatia gets one away through cover for a couple. But nice fuller lengths in that over from Brunt. Early swing on offer.

Here we go! Nearly a run out first ball. Mandhana slow to react to a call but the direct hit didn’t come. Nerves, nerves.

A bit of a delay to start proceedings. Apparently some cleaning to be done... not clear what exactly is going on.

National anthems done! Smriti Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia walking out to bat. It’s a big one, folks. Ready?

6.25 am: And also a reminder. Was doing these scenarios a little bit yesterday and this is the one I had too. England won’t be OUT with a defeat but will be REALLY difficult. As mentioned below, this will require Pakistan to beat New Zealand for instance. (India don’t have to beat Australia there either, even if Australia win all 7 and India win 5, this will hold good)

It’s a fresh pitch, this one at Bay Oval. But the pitch report indicated it could still play pretty much the same as the previous matches where it took turn later. That surprised Anjum Chopra as England opted to bowl first.

6.15 am: We’ve had jokes about this, but this stat is actually going to be a significant backdrop to today’s match, I feel. England’s struggles have been real. Amy Jones mentioned it, now Nasser Hussain in the pre-match show today. England must be REALLY hoping that the first chance is taken.

A good pre-match chat with Harmanpreet Kaur

TEAM NEWS

Both teams are unchanged.

India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj(c), Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

England XI: Danielle Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Charlotte Dean, Anya Shrubsole

TOSS NEWS: Heather Knight wins the toss and England will be bowling first. Mithali says India wanted to bat first anyway. everyone is happy. Both teams unchanged. (Little bit interesting from England’s point of view).

5.55 am: Almost exactly 17 years ago, Jhulan Goswami took her first World Cup wicket, dismissing Inoka Galagedara of Sri Lanka on 22 March 2005.

Since then, she has dismissed 40 different batters, never getting the same batter out twice at a World Cup, with Mohammed her seventh West Indian wicket.

If she gets any of Nat Sciver, Danni Wyatt, Katherine Brunt it will be first repeat wicket at the World Cup.

Amy Jones has urged England to focus on enjoying their cricket as they look to get their title defence back on track against India at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022.

England suffered their third consecutive loss of the tournament against South Africa last time out, losing by three wickets following previous defeats to Australia and West Indies.

That result was underpinned by more fielding errors, including dropped chances and a missed stumping, but Jones believes England are more than capable of righting those wrongs.

“After the West Indies game, we dropped and missed a lot of chances, so we spoke about that as a group, obviously not wanting to put a huge amount of pressure on the first opportunity that comes in the next game,” she said.

“We just spoke about how we want to be really positive, really supportive of each other out there and just do the little things right, like attacking the ball and getting some good energy going.”

England have a good recent record against India and with every game now a must-win for the reigning champions, Jones hopes that will come into play when they meet again.

“It definitely helps,” she added. “It’s quite natural to look back at the last games you played against them and to have that recent success against them as a group will give us confidence.”

— via ICC media zone

05.45 am: Hello and welcome to live updates of India’s big match against defending champions England at the ICC Women’s ODI Cricket World Cup 2022. India are back at Bay Oval after two matches in Hamilton while England, winless so far, play their second straight match at the venue.

Match 15 of this year’s tournament will be the clash between the two finalists of the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup at Lord’s. England and India have competed against each other in 11 World Cup matches so far. England have the historical edge, winning seven of those contests, compared to India’s four. These two nations have also played 61 ODIs between them, excluding World Cups. It has been a tight contest so far, with England winning 32 and India winning 27 (two no results). They last faced each other in a bilateral series in 2021 at England, and it was won by the home team 2-1.

With inputs from ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2020, Sportradar and ESPNCricinfo Statsguru. All statistics mentioned for women’s One Day Internationals unless otherwise stated.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy ICC Match Centre / Disney+Hotstar.