In the 1st ODI match against England, Team India all-rounder Deepti Sharma delivered a match-winning knock, which helped her side to seal a victory by four wickets.
Reflecting on her knock, Deepti said that she was waiting for an opportunity like this to perform.
“I was waiting for an opportunity like this. I wanted to build a partnership with Jemimah, scores 5-6 runs an over consistently. (On her sweep shots) I have worked a lot on it early days, and it helps on this kind of track,” she said during the post-match presentation.
During her knock, she smashed a one-handed six, for which she credited the men`s Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant.
“(On the one-handed six) I play these shots in practice, I picked that up from Rishabh Pant. We have played in England before, we enjoy these conditions,” Deepti added.
Facing 64 balls, Deepti Sharma played a knock of 62 runs, including three boundaries and a maximum. This also marked the highest score from No.6 or lower for India Women in an ODI run-chase, surpassing Veda Krishnamurthy`s unbeaten 52-run knock against WI-W (Vijayawada, 2016).
Deepti was also named `Player of the Match` for her stunning display with the willow. The `Women in Blue` chased the target in 48.2 overs by posting 262 runs on board for the loss of six wickets.
India Women have now won 11 of their last 12 ODIs, a sequence that started with the home series against the West Indies in December. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side has now taken a lead of 1-0 against England.
Earlier, a 71-run third-wicket stand between Emma Lamb (39 in 50 balls, with four boundaries) and captain Nat Sciver Brunt (41 in 52 balls, with five fours) helped England stabilise before spinner Sneh Rana removed both, reducing them to 97/4 in 20.1 overs.
A century stand for the fourth-wicket between Sophia Dunkley (83 in 92 balls, with nine fours) and Davidson Richards (53 in 73 balls, with two fours) averted any possible disaster while Sophie Ecclestone`s quick cameo of 23* took England to a solid 258/6 in 50 overs.
Rana (2/31) and Goud (2/55) took two wickets each, while Amanjot Kaur and Shree Charani got one each.
(With ANI Inputs)
