England crushindia,setupausfinal
Jones, Sciver hit unbeaten fifties after India suffer batting collapse
ANTIGUA: England dashed India’s hopes the second time in a row, marching into the Women’s World T20 final with an eightwicket win in the semi-final at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Thursday.
India suffered a spectacular batting collapse and then dropped Natali Sciver on two as slim hopes evaporated. India had hoped to avenge the 2017 World Cup final loss to England.
After dismissing India for 112 in 19.3 overs, England rode on an unbroken third-wicket stand of 94 between Player-of-thematch Amy Jones (53no) and allrounder Natalie (52no).
In Saturday’s final in Antigua, England will face Australia, who beat holders West Indies by 71 runs.
In a surprise decision, India did not recall experienced opener Mithali Raj, retaining the eleven which beat Australia in the final group game at Providence, Guyana five days earlier.
Mithali, who had said she would quit T20s after the tournament, sat out the first game against New Zealand but hit fifties to anchor the batting in the subsequent wins over Pakistan and Ireland. She sufferd a knee injury while fielding against Ireland and was not included for the Australia game.
Any hopes for a close affair vanished after India lost their last eight wickets for 23 runs after choosing to bat first. They had played all group matches in Providence. England’s Group A games were held in St Lucia. England captain Heather Knight finished with three for nine with her off-spinners on a helpful pitch while Kirstie Gordon was another of the slow bowlers to capitalise on the conditions. Her spell of 2/20 included the crucial wicket of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
Her dismissal triggered the batting collapse as India frittered away the work of opener Smriti Mandhana, who topscored with 34, and Jemimah Rodrigues (26).
It was another story of India not showing temperament in a big match, having lost the 2017 World Cup final at Lord’s last year and the Asia Cup T20 final to Bangladesh this year. As many as seven players failed to get to double figures and the spin attack was unable to adapt to a surface that was different from Providence.
HEALY SHINES
Australia also dominated. Wicketkeeper-opener Alyssa Healy won a fitness race to play following concussion in a fielding incident earlier in the tournament. She was again outstanding with the bat for the three-time champions, top-scoring with 46 to lift the Aussies to 142/5 batting first.
It earned her a fourth Playerof-the-match award in five matches in the tournament, after the 2016 champions were routed for 71 off 17.3 overs.
It left the home crowd disappointed but reinforced the consistent excellence of the topranked team in women’s T20, who by that result went some way towards making amends for losing the final to the Caribbean side in Kolkata two-and-ahalf years ago.
Brief scores: India 112 in 19.2 overs (Smriti Mandhana 34, Jemimah Rodriguez 26; Heather Knight 3/9, Kirstie Gordon 2/20) lost to England 116 for 2 in 17.1 overs (Amy Jones 53 not out, Natalie Sciver 52 not out; Radha Yadav 1/20) by eight wickets. Australia 142 for 5 (Alyssa Healy 46, Meg Lanning 31; Stafanie Taylor 1/20, Deandra Dottin 1/23) beat West Indies 71 in 17.3 overs (Stafanie Taylor 16; Ellyse Perry 2/2, Ashleigh Gardner 2/15, Delissa Kimmince 2/17) by 71 runs.