Bengaluru, Jul 23: It was a case of so near yet so far for India as they went down to England by a narrow margin of 9 runs in the Women’s World Cup final at Lord’s in London on Sunday.
India, eyeing their maiden World Cup trophy, had done all the good work and looked like scripting history. But in a thrilling finish, England held their nerves and turned the tables on India to bag their fourth World title.
Credit must go to England for their fighting spirit and India had only themselves to blame for their appalling batting display in the second half of the innings.
Mithali Raj’s women lost the toss but Indian bowlers stepped up in fine fashion to restrict their opponents to 228/7.
Despite the enormous nature of the occasion, the target was indeed achievable and India did well to march towards it thanks to sensible knocks from Punam Raut (86) and Harmanpreet Kaur (51). Though the duo departed, the game was well in the visitors’ hands with Veda Krishnamurthy (35) looking dangerous. However, one loose shot from Veda saw England come back into the tie and what unfolded from then was nothing short of self-destruction.
From a healthy position of 191/4, India lost wickets in quick succession and were out for 219 with eight balls to spare. It was Anya Shrubsole who triggered the collapse and put England on top. The right-arm medium pacer was the chief destroyer with figures of 6/46.
England thus exacted sweet revenge and lived up to their favourite tags.
The Heather Knight-led side had lost to India by 35 runs in their opening game but the hosts eventually had the last laugh.
India, who grew from strength to strength as the tournament progressed, were left heartbroken.
In what was a memorable tournament, laced with a fine mix of individual and team performances, India were indeed no pushovers in the final. However, similar to their first final experience in 2005, India unfortunately settled for the second spot.
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