India got their first win at home after the World Cup finals when they beat the Englishwomen by eight wickets to salvage some pride after a disappointing tournament.
The crowd did not fill up the Brabourne Stadium to see 50-over World Cup runners-up Indian Women play their games in T20 tri-series also involving Australia and England. The stadium was not even half full.
But there were some loyal followers who nearly filled up the North Stand of the historic venue on each day the Women in Blue played. Even after India lost their first three games and were out of final race, they remained glued to their seats with hopes to see their country win.
Their wish came true in the dead rubber against England on Thursday.
India got their first win at home after the World Cup finals when they beat the Englishwomen by eight wickets to salvage some pride after a disappointing tournament.
Having defeated South Africa in ODIs (2-1) and T20Is (3-1) in an away tour, India were supposed to be favourites when they played at home.
However, they came up with disappointing results, first in the ODIs against Australia where they lost all the three games in Vadodara followed by another failure in the tri-series.
As they go into another ODI series, this time against England in Nagpur, a win in Thursday's inconsequential game would have given a major boost.
Knowing the same, the Indians stepped on the field and put up a super show in all the departments to post an easy win.
With England opting to bat first, the Indian bowlers came up with a fantastic effort that saw the visitors fold up for 107. Off-spinner Anuja Patil picked the most scalps — 3/21. Not to forget, India's brilliant fielding in the outfield which included a stunning one-handed running catch by captain Harmanpreet Kaur to dismiss Danielle Hazel off Patil in the deep.
Opener Smriti Mandhana made the chase look easy with her strokeful unbeaten 62 (41b, 8x4, 1x6). After her partners — Mithali Raj (6) and Jemimah Rodrigues (7) — got out cheaply, Mandhana had Kaur (20*, 31b, 2x4) for company to see her team chase down with 26 balls to spare.
Mandhana continued her form as she came out with breathtaking pulls and cuts that helped her reach her fifth half-century in her last six innings, and three in four this tournament.
Senior player Jhulan Goswami was happy after the win. "First of all, we played T20 competition after a long time. In South Africa, we played after a year's break and this is the second time. The rules changed and as a bowler, you need to be a little more precise about your line & length and your accuracy, and you have to make sure (in) which areas you will bowl and have protection in the boundary line," she said.
Meanwhile, England will take on arch-rivals Australia in the final on Saturday.
Scorecard
England: D Wyatt c&b Sharma 31, A Jones c Raj b Vastrakar 15, T Beaumont c Goswami b P Yadav 10, N Sciver c Bhatia b Patil 15, H Knight c Bhatia b R Yadav 11, F Wilson st Bhatia b Sharma 12, A Davidson-Richards c Goswami b P Yadav 3, K George lbw b R Yadav 0, D Hazell c Kaur b Patil 3, N Farrant lbw b Patil 2, A Hartley (not out) 2
Extras (LB1, W2) 3
Total (all out, 18.5 overs) 107
Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-59, 3-61, 4-84, 5-91, 6-96, 7-96, 8-102, 9-103
Bowling: J Goswami 2-1-11-0, P Vastrakar 2-0-17-1, A Patil 3.5-0-21-3, R Yadav 3-0-16-2, D Sharma 4-0-24-2, Poonam Yadav 4-0-17-2
India (target: 108): M Raj c Davidson-Richards b Hazell 6, S Mandhana (not out) 62, J Rodrigues c Farrant b Hazell 7, H Kaur (not out) 20
Extras (W13) 13
Total (for 2 wickets, 15.4 overs) 108
Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-48
Bowling: NE Farrant 2-0-14-0, KL George 1-0-16-0, D Hazell 3-0-17-2, H Knight 1-0-9-0, A Hartley 3.4-0-23-0, NR Sciver 2-0-10-0, A Davidson-Richards 1-0-10-0, D Wyatt 2-0-9-0
Result: India win by 8 wickets
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