Raf Nicholson's report
That’s it from me, Raf’s report from the ground should be along any moment. Thanks for tuning in, goodnight!
England Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt speaks:
Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards played really, really well. To get to that total from 90-4 was brilliant, but ultimately we didn’t have enough runs.
The outfield really dried out through our innings and the second innings, with it being a big field we knew we’d be running quite a lot. 280 would have been a good score. I think the way we stayed in the game for as long as we did was brilliant. Deepti played really well, that partnership with her and Jemi Rodrigues did the damage. We can be more disciplined, that’s the battle between the two sides… who can last longer.”
India Captain Harmanpreet Kaur speaks:
It was a great feeling the way we played today. In the end, the way the team played, it was a very crucial innings and very happy we all performed today. We knew when we were bowling, if we stayed there we could easily chase this total.
On Sharma and Rodrigues’ partnership:
It was very important Deepti’s [Sharma] calmness on the field and the way they rotated the strike was very important.”
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Deepti Sharma scoops Player of the Match:
I think I was waiting for this opportunity. We had a conversation that we had to build a partnership. We had to take five-to-six runs per over.”
On her sweep shot:
I was working on it and that helps me a lot. If I play, I play those kind of shots.”
On that six:
I played it in the practice and I am used to those shots. I like that shot.”
On playing in England:
I think I played last time we play lot of series in England. We are used to these conditions. We enjoy each and every game.”
That was India’s second best ever chase in women’s ODIs and they have now won five-in-a-row in England.
Deepti Sharma finished unbeaten on 62 from 64 balls and her 90-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues was the crucial stand for the visitors.
India win by 4 wickets (with 10 balls remaining)
Amanjot Kaur finishes the match in style, hitting Kate Cross for consecutive fours to see India home and to a 1-0 lead in the series.
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48th over: India 254-6 (Sharma 62, Kaur 12) Filer slams in two bouncers for dot balls but is worked around off the rest, India happy to get there in singles by the looks of it.
India need 5 runs off 12 balls.
47th over: India 250-6 (Sharma 60, Kaur 10) Kate Cross is summoned. Amanjot Kaur drives her for four down the ground and the whips for two into the leg side to leave India on the brink – 9 runs needed from 18 balls.
46th over: India 242-6 (Sharma 59, Kaur 4) Sharma top edges Filer over Amy Jones’ head and away for four! That relieves some pressure for India. Ouch. Lauren Filer hits the deck in her bowling stride and the physio comes on to assess her. She’s good to go after a short delay. Amanjot pulls a single behind square and a leg side wide sees the target into the teens with one ball to go in the over. Sharma pulls into the deep for a single and to keep strike. India need 17 runs from 24 balls.
45th over: India 232-6 (Sharma 53, Kaur 2) Amanjot Kaur joins Deepti Sharma int the middle. They trade singles to make it five runs and one wicket off the over. Where’s your moolah now eh? 27 runs required from 30 balls.
WICKET! Richa Ghosh st Jones b Dean 10 (India 229-6)
A sting in the tale? Ghosh dances down to Dean but swishes and misses, Amy Jones taking the bails with the batter stranded well out of her crease!
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44th over: India 227-5 (Sharma 51, Ghosh 9) Curious shot from Ghosh who dances down and then plinks Filer over point for a couple. Four off the over in total as India close in on victory.
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43rd over: India 223-5 (Sharma 50, Ghosh 6) Charlie Dean is swept fine for four by Ghosh! It was too leg side and Dean knows it, she kicks the turf in frustration. Sharma sweeps to go to a well made half century off 52 balls. She’s been ice cold in this run chase so far. 36 needed from 42.
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42nd over: India 216-5 (Sharma 48, Ghosh 1) Richa Ghosh is the new batter. India were cruising but Rodrigues’ wicket has given England a sniff.
43 runs needed off 48 balls.
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WICKET! Jemimah Rodrigues c Jones b Filer 48 (India 214-5)
Lauren Filer returns. Sharma cuts past point for two and pulls into midwicket for single. Gone! Rodrigues tries to upper cut a short ball but gets a glove through to Amy Jones!
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41st over: India 211-4 (Rodrigues 48, Sharma 44) Rodrigues plays a lovely in-to out of Ecclestone to manipulate the ball into the gap for a single. Ecclestone is trying to cramp her up but Rodrigues footwork is so precise. Ecclestone beats Sharma with a flighted ball that cuts batter in half but misses the stumps! The left-armer finishes with 1-34 from her ten overs but the game is slipping away from England.
40th over: India 208-4 (Rodrigues 47, Sharma 42) Gah, Lauren Bell spears down a leg side wide and then follows up with four leg byes, Sharma got so far across her stumps that it was actually lbw but England’s players didn’t appeal. They needed that one, Bell gave it a quizzical look but there was nothing from Amy Jones behind the stumps.
39th over: India 200-4 (Rodrigues 46, Sharma 40) Sciver-Brunt is forced to recall Ecclestone to try and make something happen. Rodrigues and Sharma work the singles and bring up the 200. India have only faced six dots in the last six overs, they’ve rotated strike perfectly.
38th over: India 195-4 (Rodrigues 44, Sharma 37) What a shot! Deepti Sharma swipes Lauren Bell off a length for SIX over midwicket. Her bottom had came off the handle during the shot and she holds her bat aloft like a periscope as the ball flies away over the rope. Shades of Yuvraj Singh in that one! Eleven runs off the over, 64 off 72 balls for India.
37th over: India 184-4 (Rodrigues 43, Sharma 27) Nine runs off Lamb’s latest as this pair look more and more comfortable, Rodrigues plays a classy loft over extra cover for four to take the partnership to 60 off 59 balls.
36th over: India 175-4 (Rodrigues 37, Sharma 24) Sharma sweeps Dean hard along the baize but there is cover on the leg-side boundary. A scampered two brings the fifty partnership up between this pair. England could do with winkling out another one right about now.
35th over: India 168-4 (Rodrigues 34, Sharma 20) Lamb continues, she drags a few deliveries down and is fortunate to get away with them as Sharma hits the fielders. Five singles off it.
34th over: India 163-4 (Rodrigues 32, Sharma 17) Deepti Sharma sweeps Dean hard for four off the first ball! Pressure on the bowler for the rest of the over. A full toss is glided away to the cover fence by Rodrigues. The target comes down into double figures, decent over for India – eleven runs off it. 96 needed off 96 balls.
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33rd over: India 152-4 (Rodrigues 27, Sharma 11) Rodrigues is a real touch player, Emma Lamb is summoned for some right arm off spin and a loose first ball is cut fine with Andrex soft hands for four. Lamb tightens up in the rest of the over, six off it as India chip away.
32nd over: India 146-4 (Rodrigues 22, Sharma 10) Dean continues after the electrolyte slurping. England are trying to force this run rate higher in the hope that it will force a rash shot.
31st over: India 141-4 (Rodrigues 19, Sharma 8) Rodrigues chops Cross away behind point for four. The bowler responds with some extra pep and gets one to lift and take the leading edge, luckily for Rodrigues it lands a few feet short of cover. Time for a drink – England have pegged India back, they were 140-4 at the same stage so there’s only a single to separate them.
30th over: India 134-4 (Rodrigues 13, Sharma 7) Dean chastises herself as she sends down a gift on the leg stump for Deepti to sweep away fine for four. India need 125 runs from 20 overs, England need six wickets or to continue this constriction.
29th over: India 128-4 (Rodrigues 12, Sharma 2) Kate Cross applies the squeeze now, bowling stump to stump and giving nothing away.
28th over: India 126-4 (Rodrigues 11, Sharma 1) England really fancy this now, they buzz about in the field as Deepti Sharma arrives in the middle. Dean has 1-11 from her four overs so far.
WICKET! Harmanpreet Kaur lbw b Dean 17 (India 124-4)
Huge wicket! Charlie Dean pins Harmanpreet lbw! The umpire turned it down but the bowler was certain and with good reason, the DRS sending India’s skipper on her way. Now then!
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27th over: India 124-3 (Harmanpreet 17, Rodrigues 10) Cross comes back and eight runs are worked off her over. At this stage England were 122-4 so India just have their noses in front.
26th over: India 116-3 (Harmanpreet 10, Rodrigues 9) Charlie Dean has been excellent in her short spell so far. Just nine runs off her three overs. Ecclestone is being replaced by Kate Cross. Can the seamer keep the pressure on?
25th over: India 113-3 (Harmanpreet 9, Rodrigues 7) Shot! Ecclestone is swept fine by Rodrigues to release some pressure for India. It’s dots once more afterwards though as India reach the halfway stage needing needing 146 more with seven wickets in hand. Add a couple of wickets on though…
24th over: India 108-3 (Harmanpreet 9, Rodrigues 2) Rodrigues off the mark with a poke into off. Dean lands it on a pocket square and India can only deal in singles at the moment as the run rate begins to creep.
23rd over: India 103-3 (Harmanpreet 6, Rodrigues 0) Dot follows dot… Ecclestone stitches together her second maiden in a row. England on the squeeze.
22nd over: India 103-3 (Harmanpreet 6, Rodrigues 0) England going with spin with Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone applying the pressure.
21st over: India 103-3 (Harmanpreet 6, Rodrigues 0) Jemimah Rodrigues joins Harmanpreet in the middle with the door just about ajar for England.
WICKET! Harleen Deol run out (Davidson-Richards) 27 (India 102-3)
Oh that is stonkingly bad from Deol, she is well home when the direct hit comes in but her bat is in the air and her toe is short of the crease. England can’t believe it but they’ve been gifted a wicket.
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21st over: India 101-2 (Deol 27, Harmanpreet 4) Ecclestone rattles through a maiden.
20th over: India 101-2 (Deol 27, Harmanpreet 4) Filer vs Harmanpreet, the bowler goes full and is well dug out. Can England get on a charge here? India need 158 from 30 overs.
WICKET! Pratika Rawal b Ecclestone 36 (India 94-2)
England needed that! Ecclestone cleans up Rawal with a beauty from around the wicket!
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18th over: India 94-1 (Rawal 36, Deol 26) England are leaking runs with the game on the line, CharlottE Edwards won’t be happy with the number of misfields out there.
17th over: India 90-1 (Rawal 34, Deol 24) Ecclestone is threaded through cover and then gives it the double teapot as Pratika Rawal seizes on width and carves away for four.
16th over: India 84-1 (Rawal 28, Deol 24) Shot! Deol plays the shot of the day so far for my money, a back foot punch on her tippy toes to send a Filer back of a length delivery skimming to the fence at cover. And again! Deol plays a textbook cover drive and the pace on the ball coupled with the Swiss clock timing sees four chipped off the target.
15th over: India 74-1 (Rawal 27, Deol 15) Tammy Beaumont fumbles at backward point to gift Rawal a couple. And again, Beaumont is nutmegged in her long barrier and the ball trickles away for a couple more. (A flock of?) Seagulls can be heard in Southampton as the players take drinks.
14th over: India 70-1 (Rawal 23, Deol 15) Filer is steaming in but she drops short and wide to be cut away in the gap by Deol.
13th over: India 64-1 (Rawal 22, Deol 10) Ecclestone is driven for four by Deol who collects a single off the last ball in order to keep strike.
12th over: India 59-1 (Rawal 22, Deol 5) Righto, here comes Lauren Filer for her first spell. Slip in place. Can she bust this game open for England? She starts with a leg side wide and is then clipped for an easy single by Rawal. Filer gets Deol to flinch a little at a short ball but it missed the gloves on the way through to Amy Jones.
11th over: India 56-1 (Rawal 21, Deol 4) Ecclestone gets one to grip and spit and signals she wants a slip. Deol throws the blade at a length ball, plinks in the air but in the gap and they scurry three runs.
10th over: India 52-1 (Rawal 20, Deol 1) Just a single off Bell’sw fifth over. England have tightened things up in the last few. Here comes Sophie Ecclestone for her first twirl of the match.
9th over: India 51-1 (Rawal 20, Deol 0) Kate Cross is into her fifth, she bustles through a tidy over with just three runs off it as India bring up their fifty to a polite burst of applause.
8th over: India 48-1 (Rawal 18, Deol 0 ) Harleen Deol is in at number three for India.
WICKET! Smriti Mandhana c Jones b Bell 28 (India 48-1)
Nat Sciver-Brunt is letting the game drift a little here, an over of spin or a summons for Lauren Filer is needed. Bell is too short and Mandhana can sit on the back foot and pull for four. Rinse and repeat, leg side and swivelled for four more…
An edge! From nowhere England have picked up Smriti Mandhan, Bell came around the wicket and Mandhana got a feather fencing at a good length ball. The home sided really needed that.
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7th over: India 40-0 (Mandhana 20, Rawal 18) Cross is given another, Mark Butcher on the tv commentary suggests England need a spark. You can’t start a fire without one. Cross is at the stumps with the keeper up. A tidy is over is blotted by a misfield in the covers that sees Rawal get a drive away for four instead of a single. England haven’t had the faintest sniff of a chance in this innings.
6th over: India 34-0 (Mandhana 20, Rawal 12) Bell is flicked for four more by Mandhana, it’s all too easy for India at the moment. Bell spears in a sharp yorker but Mandhana digs it out easily enough and clips another full ball for two. There is a smidge of movement from the hand but it is slow. India in cruise control at the moment.
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5th over: India 28-0 (Mandhana 14, Rawal 12) I’d be tempted to get Lauren Filer on pronto, India take eight from the over without breaking a sweat. Rawal pings Cross through point for four and the openers rotate strike with ease.
4th over: India 20-0 (Mandhana 13, Rawal 5) Don’t bowl there to Smriti! Bell goes short and is pulled away with ease by Mandhana and then a full ball on the pads is timed sweetly through midwicket for four more!
3rd over: India 11-0 (Mandhana 5, Rawal 5) No alarms for India but a quiet start to the inning so far.
2nd over: India 7-0 (Mandhana 2, Rawal 4) Lauren Bell shares the new ball, a hint of away swing from the lissom limbed seamer. Rawal guides a single to gully and its the only run off a tidy first over.
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1st over: India 6-0 (Mandhana 2, Rawal 3) Cross doesn’t quite have her radar correct in the first over, she has a slip in place but doesn’t trouble the outside edge, flinging a a wide down the leg side to gift India an early run.
Rawal and Mandhana are a right and left hand combo which always messes with a bowler’s line. No real movement in evidence so far, Cross would find it if there was some to harness. Bright blue skies on the south coast… batting conditions you’d think and there are no demons in this wicket.
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Thanks Rob and hello everyone. I suspect England’s somewhat spluttering effort with the bat might not be enough to keep this vaunted India batting card at bay but as ever, early wickets could swing the dial back towards the home side.
The players are emerging back onto the Southampton turf after a spot of sustenance, Kate Cross has the ball in hand for England. Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana opening up for India. Let’s play!
India need 259 to win
England did well to recover from 97 for 4, with Sophia Dunkley, who turned 27 today, making a mature and stylish 83. But a total of 258 feels below-par on a good Southampton pitch. Much will depend on whether Lauren Filer is able to give India the hurry-up.
The runchase begins in just under half an hour. James Wallace will be here for that; I’ll see you soon.
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WICKET! Dunkley b Amanjot 83
50th over: England 258-6 (Ecclestone 23) England pilfer 13 from the last over of the innings. Ecclestone belts Amanjot to the cover boundary, then Dunkley launches a slower ball to the same part of the ground to bring up the fifty partnership in 35 balls.
Dunkley is knocked off her feet when a misplaced throw from the deep hits her on the helmet as she is running for a second. She takes a quick concussion test before the final ball of the innings, which skids on to hit the stumps as she misses another off-side slap.
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49th over: England 245-5 (Dunkley 77, Ecclestone 16) After an unsuccessful review for LBW from India, Dunkley blasts Sharma thrillingly over extra cover for her eighth four. Ecclestone, who is playing a useful hand, sweeps another boundary round the corner.
This is a decent finish for England; they’ve scored 23 off the last two overs.
48th over: England 233-5 (Dunkley 72, Ecclestone 10) Dunkley hits Charani’s first two deliveries for four, the first a beautifully placed shot to wide long-on. But it doesn’t quite lead to the huge over that England needed, with Charani conceding only three from the last four balls.
47th over: England 222-5 (Dunkley 63, Ecclestone 8) Ecclestone skips down to punch a low full toss from Sharma between extra cover and mid-off for her first boundary. Very good shot. But England’s total feels maybe 20 or 30 below par.
In the previous over (I think), Ecclestone was warned for running down the middle of the pitch.
46th over: England 215-5 (Dunkley 61, Ecclestone 3) Dunkley uppercuts Goud stylishly for four, another good shot in an area of the field that has been profitable for her today.
45th over: England 208-5 (Dunkley 56, Ecclestone 2) The wicket means another rebuild, albeit a very short one this time. Five runs from Deepti’s over. England will still be eyeing 250.
44th over: England 203-5 (Dunkley 52, Ecclestone 0)
WICKET! England 203-5 (Davidson-Richards st Ghost b Charani 53)
Davidson-Richards is stumped in strange circumstances. She walked down the track to Charani and got a thin edge that was fumbled by the keeper Ghosh. Davidson-Richards was slow to react, assuming she was going to be stumped anyway, and Ghosh had time to grab the ball off the floor and do the necessary.
Had Davidson-Richards tried to make her ground straight away she may well have survived. A tame end to a pretty good innings.
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Fifty to Davidson-Richards
43rd over: England 199-4 (Dunkley 50, Davidson-Richards 50) A couple of important milestones in that over from Deepti Sharma: first the hundred partnership, then Davidson-Richards’ second ODI fifty. It came from 70 balls and has been a sensible, low-key innings, exactly what England needed after slipping to 97 for 4.
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42nd over: England 196-4 (Dunkley 50, Davidson-Richards 48) Back comes Kranti Goud, the swing bowler who has had a mixed day with the ball. Davidson-Richards cuffs her over midwicket for four, part of a rare double-figure over in this innings: 1x4, 3x2, 1x1, all to Davidson-Richards.
Fifty for Dunkley
41st over: England 185-4 (Dunkley 50, Davidson-Richards 37) Dunkley takes a single off Rana to bring up a mature, composed half-century from 68 balls. Her return to form has been one of the big plusses in a difficult year for England.
Rana needs treatment at the end of a very good spell: 10-0-31-2. In fact she’s leaving the field alongside the physio.
40th over: England 182-4 (Dunkley 49, Davidson-Richards 35) Dunkley makes room to guide Amanjot past backward point for four. She and Davidson-Richards played with a lot of common sense; in doing so, they’ve earned an opportunity to have some fun in the last 10 overs. If England can get to 250 they’ll be reasonably happy after such a tricky start.
39th over: England 175-4 (Dunkley 44, Davidson-Richards 33) Dunkley clips Rana past short midwicket, where Rodrigues dives low to her right and gets a fingertip on the ball. Technically that’s another dropped catch but even a fielder as good as Rodrigues would take that maybe once in every 15 attempts.
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38th over: England 172-4 (Dunkley 43, Davidson-Richards 31) Amanjot’s return means a change of pace in the bowling, if not the scoring. At this stage, as we approach the death overs, both teams seem happy with England scoring roughly four an over.
37th over: England 168-4 (Dunkley 40, Davidson-Richards 30) A slightly better over for England, who take four singles and a two off Rana. But it feels like something is about to give.
36th over: England 162-4 (Dunkley 38, Davidson-Richards 26) Davidson-Richards smashes the ball back at Charani, who crouches to make a good stop. It wasn’t a caught-and-bowled chance. England are batting with greater urgency but India are giving them little to hit.
35th over: England 159-4 (Dunkley 37, Davidson-Richards 24)
34th over: England 156-4 (Dunkley 36, Davidson-Richards 22) It’s hard to know what would be a competitive score. You’d imagine England will want at least 250 because the pitch looks fine.
Dunkley moves them four runs closer with a premeditated reverse sweep off the bowling of Charani. She’s played nicely and has 36 from 49 balls.
33rd over: England 150-4 (Dunkley 31, Davidson-Richards 21) Sneh Rana, who took the key wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt, begins her second spell after drinks. Davidson-Richards walks down to whip a full toss just wide of Rodrigues at midwicket. No chance of a catch; instead it goes for one of three singles in the over.
32nd over: England 147-4 (Dunkley 29, Davidson-Richards 20) Dunkley backs away to hammer a short ball from Goud behind square for four. She’s looking good, that dropped catch notwithstanding, and a single off the next ball brings up an important fifty partnership.
Davidson-Richards plays and misses before surviving a hopeful LBW appeal. That’s drinks.
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31st over: England 140-4 (Dunkley 24, Davidson-Richards 19) Another dropped catch! Dunkley flicks Sharma towards midwicket, where the usually reliable Rodrigues spills a sharp chance above her head.
That’s the third missed chance of the innings, a surprise given the quality of India’s fielding in recent games.
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30th over: England 136-4 (Dunkley 22, Davidson-Richards 17) Kranti Goud, who dismissed the openers in her first spell, drops Davidson-Richards in the first over of her second. An attempted pull from Davidson-Richards turned into a tennis shot straight back down the ground. Goud threw both hands above her head, except instead of using both she put one behind the other and was unable to hang on.
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29th over: England 133-4 (Dunkley 20, Davidson-Richards 16) Sharma wakes the crowd up by fielding the ball in her follow-through and flinging it whence it came. Davidson-Richards moves out of the way and smiles broadly down the pitch.
28th over: England 129-4 (Dunkley 18, Davidson-Richards 14) Pratika Rawal comes on to bowl a bit of occasional offspin. Her second ball is too wide and flashed through extra cover by Dunkley, a fine shot that brings her first boundary.
England have moved up a gear, taking 13 from the last two overs. Hardly an onslaught but an improvement nontheless.
27th over: England 122-4 (Dunkley 13, Davidson-Richards 12) The first sign of intent comes from Davidson-Richards, who skips down to drive the new bowler Deepti Sharma over mid-on for four. Excellent stroke.
26th over: England 116-4 (Dunkley 12, Davidson-Richards 7) Davidson-Richards smiles wryly after being beaten by some uneven bounce. She made a century in her only Test appearance to date, so we know she can bat. England have struggled to find a consistent No6 in ODIs so this is a decent chance.
For now, she and England are struggling. Two from Charani’s over, 31 from the last 10.
25th over: England 114-4 (Dunkley 11, Davidson-Richards 6)
24th over: England 111-4 (Dunkley 10, Davidson-Richards 4) Dunkley, who is relearning an old role at No5 after a spell up the order, laps Charani deftly for three. As Mark Butcher says on Sky, with only the bowlers to come this pair have little options but to rebuild carefully.
23rd over: England 106-4 (Dunkley 7, Davidson-Richards 2) Dunkley tries to sweep Rana and top-edges over the keeper’s head for two. If England lose another wicket now this could be over before Pointless.
22nd over: England 102-4 (Dunkley 4, Davidson-Richards 1) Charani returns to the attack and continues an excellent mini-spell for India. They’ve picked up two wickets for 19 in the last seven overs.
“I turned on the cricket about 20 minutes ago so there was something on in the background,” says Ant Pease. “Since I turned on the feed, the run rate has dropped by one per over, then two wickets fell in five minutes. For the good of the nation, I’ve turned back off. From here on out, I’m relying on the OBO...”
21st over: England 99-4 (Dunkley 1, Davidson-Richards 1) Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards are England’s last recognised batters. They have a lot of work to do.
When Sciver-Brunt was dropped by Mandhana at short midwicket a couple of overs ago, Harmanpreet moved her best fielder Jemimah Rodrigues into that position. Lo and behold, Sciver-Brunt offered a very similar chance – except this time it was caught superbly at ankle height by Rodrigues. England are in big trouble.
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WICKET! England 97-4 (Sciver-Brunt c Rodrigues b Rana 41)
India should be feeling pretty snug right now. Smug, too, because Sciver-Brunt has gone after an inspired change from the captain Harmanpreet Kaur!
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20th over: England 97-3 (Sciver-Brunt 41, Dunkley 0) Sciver-Brunt releases a bit of pressure with a majestic flick/pull to the left of midwicket for four. That’s the first boundary since the 13th over. India may be on top but the box seat won’t feel comfortable while Sciver-Brunt is at the crease.
19th over: England 92-3 (Sciver-Brunt 36, Dunkley 0) Terrific over from Rana – one run, one wicket. India are on top.
WICKET! England 91-3 (Lamb c H Kaur b Rana 40)
Join the dots and they’ll eventually read W-I-C-K-E-T. Emma Lamb succumbs to the pressure by mistiming a drive to mid-off that is comfortably held by Harmanpreet.
Lamb goes for 39 from 50 balls. She started very well but struggled to rotate strike when the spinners came on.
18th over: England 90-2 (Lamb 40, Sciver-Brunt 35) Amanjot replaces Charani, a slightly surprising change of pace. But she continues the turning of the screw by conceding only a couple of singles; since drinks England have scored 13 runs in four overs.
17th over: England 88-2 (Lamb 39, Sciver-Brunt 34) Sneh Rana, another offspinner, comes on for Deepti Sharma. She has Sciver-Brunt dropped in her first over, a very tough low chance to Mandhana at midwicket.
Two from the over. Sciver-Brunt is batting as if she thinks England need at least 300. One thing’s for sure: these trials by spin will be a feature of the upcoming World Cup.
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16th over: England 85-2 (Lamb 37, Sciver-Brunt 33) After three successive dot balls, Sciver-Brunt drives Charani fractionally short of mid-off, a reminder that dot-ball pressure affects even the best.
Charani has started nicely: 3-0-12-0.
15th over: England 83-2 (Lamb 36, Sciver-Brunt 32) A lofted shot from Lamb teases Deol at mid-on before eventually clearing her and bouncing away for a couple. Six from Deepti’s over.
Drinks: Lamb and NSB regroup
14th over: England 77-2 (Lamb 32, Sciver-Brunt 31) Sciver-Brunt is beaten slightly in the flight by Charani and hacks a slog-sweep behind square for a single. That’s one of five runs from the last over before drinks.
13th over: England 72-2 (Lamb 30, Sciver-Brunt 28) A leg-bye brings up the fifty partnership from 52 balls, an impressive effort given the position England are in. Both batters have looked very calm.
Sciver-Brunt is not out Yep, outside the line so India lose a review. It was a poor decision to go upstairs, the kind you only make when the opposition’s best player is at the crease.
India review for LBW against NSB! Sciver-Brunt looks around at the field, uploads it into the supercomputer between her ears and sweeps firmly into the space at deep square for four. Such good batting.
India go up for LBW when she misses an attempt to lap the next ball. It looked outside the line but Harmanpreet has been persuaded to go upstairs.
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12th over: England 65-2 (Lamb 29, Sciver-Brunt 23) Shree Charani, the left-arm spinner, who befuddled England in the T20s, also concedes five from her first over.
Lamb chips confidently over mid-on for four, then gets in a tangle with a premeditated lap. India enquire for LBW but I think Lamb top-edged the ball onto her arm; she may also have been outside the line.
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11th over: England 60-2 (Lamb 25, Sciver-Brunt 22) As is so often the case, the end of the Powerplay means the first sight of a spinner. The offie Deepti Sharma comes into the attack and is milked for five runs; the best shot was NSB’s wristy clip to deep midwicket for two.
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10th over: England 55-2 (Lamb 24, Sciver-Brunt 18) Sciver-Brunt threads Goud between mid-off and extra cover for four, a classy shot with which to bring up England’s fifty. Goud’s spell (5-0-28-2) is a bit of a headscratcher: two beauties to dismiss Beaumont and Jones, not much else. But those two wickets mean she’s very much in credit.
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9th over: England 48-2 (Lamb 23, Sciver-Brunt 12) Amanjot bowls three dot balls in a row to Lamb – but then she goes and spoils it all with a low full toss that is whacked through midwicket for four by Lamb.
8th over: England 43-2 (Lamb 19, Sciver-Brunt 11) Lovely shot from Sciver-Brunt, a flick/sweep off Gaud that races through backward square for four. She’s into double figures and into her work.
So is Emma Lamb, who clips crisply through midwicket for four more. She’s batting with calm authority and has moved to 19 from 22 balls with little risk.
7th over: England 33-2 (Lamb 15, Sciver-Brunt 6) Sciver-Brunt is beaten by a ball from Amanjot that keeps low and just misses off stump. She didn’t do much wrong; those deliveries are a nightmare for any batter, especially one as tall as NSB.
She punches the next ball efficiently through mid-off for her first boundary, then edges in the air but well wide of slip. It’s a good contest, elevated further by the primacy of Sciver-Brunt’s wicket.
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6th over: England 28-2 (Lamb 15, Sciver-Brunt 1) If Goud can repeat the trick and dismiss Nat Sciver-Brunt, India will be in control even at this early stage. Despite a modest 2024, Sciver-Brunt’s ODI record since the last World Cup is extraordinary: 1221 runs at 61.05 with a strike rate of 103.
She gets off the mark by clipping her sixth ball, the last of the over, for a single.
5th over: England 27-2 (Lamb 15, Sciver-Brunt 0) Emma Lamb gets England’s first boundary with a smooth pull over square leg off Amanjot. She’s started confidently and is going at a run a ball.
4th over: England 20-2 (Lamb 9, Sciver-Brunt 0) Goud’s figures (2-0-10-2) don’t tell the story of a spell that has included several wides, a full toss, a long hop – and two brilliant deliveries to dismiss both England openers.
WICKET! England 20-2 (Beaumont LBW b Goud 5)
Tammy Beaumont has gone! It would have hit the top of middle stump and Kranti Goud has her second wicket.
There might be an inside edge. It was a very similar to the delivery to the one that got Jones, nipping back from outside off stump. Nope, it’s pad first…
India review for LBW against Beaumont!
This looks close.
3rd over: England 17-1 (Beaumont 5, Lamb 6) Lamb times Amanjot sweetly through the covers for three, with Jemimah Rodrigues doing superbly to save the boundary. India’s fielding has been so impressive on this tour.
Beaumont turns two to deep midwicket; there might have been a third there too. No boundaries yet but England have started busily.
2nd over: England 12-1 (Beaumont 3, Lamb 3) Emma Lamb cuts her first ball for two to get off the mark. Goud then bowls her fourth wide of a peculiar but successful over.
WICKET! England 8-1 (Jones b Goud 1)
That’s the weirdest set-up I’ve ever seen. Goud looked to be really struggling when she bowled three off-side wides in a row to Jones. The next delivery was perfectly pitched on fourth stump and came back off the seam to beat Jones and trim the bails. A stunning delivery, not least because of what preceded it.
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1st over: England 5-0 (Beaumont 3, Jones 1) The seam-bowling allrounder Amanjot Kaur starts to Beaumont, who tickles her first ball round the corner for three. Amanjot finds a pretty good line to Jones, who works the last ball off the hip to get off the mark.
It’s a beautiful afternoon in Southampton and the players are almost ready to go. Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones, who made hay against West Indies, will open the batting.
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Team news
Sophie Ecclestone returns to the England side after missing the ODI series against West Indies earlier in the summer. That means there’s no place for Linsey Smith, who took seven very cheap wickets in that series.
India stick with the XI that beat Sri Lanka in their Tri-Series final in May. The teams have balanced their bowling attack differently: three seamers and two spinners for England, two and three for India.
England Beaumont, Jones (wk), Lamb, Sciver-Brunt (c), Dunkley, Davidson-Richards, Dean, Ecclestone, Cross, Filer, Bell.
India Rawal, Mandhana, Deol, H Kaur (c), Rodrigues, Ghosh (wk), Sharma, A Kaur, Rana, Charani, Goud.
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England win the toss and bat
Nat Sciver-Brunt, back from injury, says it’s a good surface and “we know there are usually a lot of runs scored on this pitch”. Harmanpreet Kaur says India would have batted as well.
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Preamble
The road to the World Cup starts here*. In 76 days’ time, India will begin the competition – their competition – against the co-hosts Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. England meet South Africa on the same ground three days later.
Both teams should enter the World Cup in a battle-hardened state. England have this three-match series against India, then warm-ups against India and Australia just before the competition starts. India’s preparation is even tougher: ODI series against England and Australia, who between them have won 11 of the 12 World Cups, followed by warm-ups against England and the reigning T20 champions, New Zealand.
These warm-up series are usually about performances, workloads, T-crossing and I-dotting as much as results. But on this occasion England could do with a series in to boost their fragile confidence going into the World Cup. They were beaten 3-2 by India in the T20 series, a scoreline that probably flattered them. And while England’s overall record since the last 50-over World Cup is terrific, it looks different when you put on the reading glasses and start squinting.
v Australia and India W2 L7 (win percentage: 22)
v the rest W22 L3 (win percentage: 88)
This is a quickfire series, with three games in seven days at Southampton, Lord’s and Chester-le-Street. By next Wednesday, we should have a better idea of both teams’ chances of winning the games that really matter.
Toss 12.30pm
First ball 1pm
* Okay, okay, strictly speaking it continues here, having started as soon as the last one ended, but what kind of sales pitch is that?
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