GQEBERHA: England’s veteran all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt scored a magnificent half-century and cruised her side to edge India by 11 runs in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Put into bat first, England raised a decent 151/7 in their allotted 20 overs at the back of a sensational fifty by Nat Sciver.
Earlier, England got off to a dismal start as the side lost three wickets inside the batting power-play for a mere 29 runs before Sciver scripted an astounding recovery for her side with a gritty partnership with skipper Heather Knight.
The pair charged on the Indian bowlers as they piled brisk 51 runs in 38 deliveries Shikha Pandey broke the shackles by dismissing Knight, who could score 28 off 23.
Following the dismissal, Sciver then put on yet another important partnership for her side as she added a vital 40 runs with Amy Jones before falling victim to Deepti Sharma.
Sciver top-scored for England with 50 off 42 deliveries and smashed five boundaries.
Jones then partnered briefly with Sophie Ecclestone (11) before finally perishing in the final over. She scored a brisk 40 off 27 balls, laced with three boundaries and two sixes.
Renuka led the bowling attack for India with 5/15 while Deepti and Shikha made one scalp each.
Set to chase 152, India fell 11 runs short of the victory despite a brilliant half-century by opener Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh’s 47.
The rest of the Indian batters, however, failed to make an impact with the bat as India could pile 140/5 in their set of overs.
Mandhana top-scored for her side with a 41-ball 52 that featured seven boundaries and a six before falling off Sarah Glenn in the 16th over.
Ghosh, on the other hand, scored an unbeaten 47 off just 34 deliveries but her efforts eventually turned out to be insufficient as England ran away with a thrilling 11-run victory.
Glenn led the bowling attack for England with 2/27 while Ecclestone and Lauren Bell struck out a batter each.
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