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Smriti Mandhana gave India the perfect start against England but the lack of impetus from the middle order took the game from their hands as they suffered an 11-run loss in their third group game of the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, February 18.
Chasing 152 runs after sending England to bat first, India needed to win this game to seal a spot in the semifinal and potentially prevent a match against Australia. Mandhana was the aggressor for India as Shafali failed once again, scoring just 8 off 11 balls. She kept the pressure on the Englishwoman as the middle order fell cheaply.
Jemimah Rodrigues (13 off 16), and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (4 off 6) could not fulfil their usual potential as Richa Ghosh was also again tasked with bailing her side out with India reeling at 62/3. Richa and Mandhana then took the game to England and the match seemed to be in the bag, if not for the wicket of the swashbuckling Indian opener, who fell for 52 off 41 runs.
The task was too much for the Indian batters, and even for Richa, with the side unable to chase down the total and scoring 140/5 in their 20 overs.
Earlier, Renuka Singh was India's best bowler against England in their third group game of the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup as the side restricted their opponents to 151 runs in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, February 18. She finished with figures of 5/15, which is India's best in the history of the competition, and the fourth best as well.
The pacer was at her best against the Englishwomen removing the top order for just 29 runs. She first bagged the wicket of Danielle Wyatt for a golden duck, after which England's hero the last time around, Alice Capsey went back to the pavilion after scoring just three runs in six balls.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt and skipper Heather Knight (28) took the attack to the opposition and played aggressively. The duo shared a 51-run stand off just 38 balls to give some impetus to England's innings.
But just when the partnership was looking threatening, Shikha Pandey broke the stand picking up her first wicket since October 2021. Knight (28 off 23) and Amy Jones (40 off 27) then stabilised the England innings before Renuka struck once again in the final over to get Jones caught by wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh. Katherine Sciver-Brunt followed on the very next ball, but Renuka was unable to make it a hat-trick as the final ball of the innings went for a four-byes.
