Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht snared four wickets as Indian bowlers dished out a clinical effort to beat England by 66 runs in the first ODI of the ICC Women’s Championship in Mumbai on Friday.
Bisht returned with impressive figures of four for 25 to help India women defend a modest a 203-run target by bundling out England women for a paltry 136 in 41 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Here are three talking points from the game:
India’s opening stand
The Wankhede wicket was a green one and England elected to bowl first without a second thought. India skipper Mithali Raj wasn’t too perturbed though. She expected the wicket to seam for a while before settling down. But getting through that period was the challenge for the hosts and that is where Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues showed their true class.
They started off slowly — 11 runs off the first 6 overs. Eight of those runs came off a thick-edge and a shot that flew just wide of cover. It was tough but the openers stuck in there and eventually, found their feet. After 9 overs, the score had jumped to 38/0. Vital, especially when one considers how the match turned out.
Had India lost early wickets on a seaming track, their middle-order frailty might well have hurt them badly but because the openers put on 69 runs, it gave the rest of the line-up some breathing space. Not that it was used well.
Still, the manner in which Mandhana (24 off 42) and Jemimah (48 off 58) batted showed that they are ready to accept the responsibility that comes with opening the batting.
Mithali, Jhulan’s experience
As India collapsed to 95/5, there was a real fear that the innings might not even make it to 150. The only consolation was that skipper Raj was still in the middle and she showed the value of her experience but just batting time. She wasn’t in any particular rush, as so many of the younger batters were, but she ensured that India wouldn’t get bowled out in a rush. Her innings once again highlighted why India still needs her around.
But her hard work may have still gone to waste but for a late cameo by Jhulan Goswami [India’s second most experienced player after Raj], who used the long handle to good effect to get India past 200.
Many of India’s youngsters still haven’t learnt how to build the innings and they should learn it while the senior pros are still around.
Ekta Bisht and the bowling
As good as India’s bowling was, one has to say that England’s batting defied belief. The visitors lost quick wickets to be reduced to 38/3 and then worked their way to 111 for no further loss before Ekta Bisht came up with a wonderful back flick to catch Natalie Sciver out of her ground.
Sciver backed up a bit too much and Bisht was alert to the opportunity. This was the 31st over of the innings – the innings was wrapped up in the 41st over.
Bisht flighted the ball well and got some impressive turn too. Once the pitch slowed down, the England batters were always going to have it tough.
“I was in good rhythm with the ball today and I feel good. My strength is flight and I also got some wickets due to the pitch. The coach keeps giving tips and helps us target the right line and lengths,” said Bisht after the game.
Shikha Pandey turned in an impressive spell to take the first two wickets but this win was largely down to the incompetence of the England batters.