The Indian eves scripted history in England as they won the first ODI series in the country since 1999. It was a complete whitewash as the Indian team won all three matches in the series. As a result, we witnessed some spectacular moments during the three games and here we will take a look at the best of those moments.
Smriti Mandhana’s Spectacular Knock
The classy left-hander stood tall for India once again as she led their chase of 228 in the first ODI with a brilliant knock of 91. Mandhana missed out on her hundred but that doesn’t take anything away from the class of her knock, which came in just 99 deliveries, consisting of 10 fours and one six.
A Captain’s Knock by Harmanpreet Kaur
Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 74 to help India chase down 228 in the first ODI, the same match where Mandhana overshadowed her with her majestic knock of 91. But the skipper played yet another brilliant knock in the second ODI as she smashed an unbeaten 143 off just 111 deliveries to propel India to a total of 333/5 in their quota of 50 overs. Kaur’s sensational innings consisted of 18 fours and four maximums, and it paved the way for a massive 88-run win for India.
Lightning Doesn’t Strike Twice, but Renuka Singh Thakur Does
While Harmanpreet smashed a brilliant 143 in the second ODI, Renuka Singh Thakur shone with the ball as she claimed four wickets for 57 runs in her 10 overs. She bowled a brilliant new ball spell and claimed two wickets, and returned in the middle and death overs again to break two important partnerships. She bowled an even better spell in the final match of the series. Renuka claimed four wickets again, but this time under much difficult circumstances as India were defending only 169. She bowled another excellent spell of 10-1-29-4 and was adjudged the Player of the Match as well.
Deepti Sharma’s Fighting Knock and a Controversial Run Out
The Indian all-rounder played a significant role in the final ODI. Sharma scored an unbeaten 68 to help India to a total of 169, when even that looked like an unlikely total at one point in the game. She kept fighting with the bat and gave the Indian bowlers just enough to defend. She bowled an economical spell later on and also claimed the wicket of Freya Kemp. However, the match ended in controversy when she caught Charlotte Dean out of the crease at the non-striker’s end before her delivery was complete, and ran her out. That was England’s last wicket and was adjudged as Out by the match officials. India won the game and whitewashed England in the series, but Deepti received heavy criticism for affecting that kind of dismissal.
