Ecclestone and Jones see England level ODI series against India at Lords in a rain-affected game of 29 overs.
Ecclestone and Jones help England level series with rain-affected win.
Before Amy Jones got them over the finish line in a rain-soaked second ODI at Lord’s to tie the series with India at one, England’s spinners gave their team a realistic target.
England’s three-pronged spin attack held India to 143 for 8, sharing six wickets between them after a four-hour rain delay cut the match to 29 overs per side. Sophie Ecclestone took the most wickets with 3 for 27. Charlie Dean took one, and Linsey Smith took two.
With England 102 for 1 after 18.4 overs chasing 144, and after a delay of roughly 20 minutes, their target was lowered to 115 in 24 overs, leaving them 5.2 overs to score 13 runs, another intense downpour in the evening sent players scrambling for cover.
After play restarted, Kranti Goud bowled Nat Sciver-Brunt with the second ball, but Jones, who was undefeated at 46, and Sophia Dunkley, who was at 9 not out, helped England win by eight wickets with eighteen balls remaining.
No other batsman went above 16, but it could have been worse if the hosts had taken advantage of five more opportunities that went begging in the field. Smriti Mandhana led India in scoring with a 51-ball 42, while Deepti Sharma was their next-best with an undefeated 30 off 34 balls.
After the first three overs, Tammy Beaumont eased to 18 off eight balls, setting up a strong start for England’s run-chase.
India had taken their first wicket in the eleventh over when Sneh Rana got one to keep low after it went under Beaumont’s attempted reverse and hit her in line. At the same stage in their innings, England had been 37 without loss following a shortened six-over powerplay, while India was 25 for 1. Despite Beaumont’s inspection, ball-tracking indicated that it would strike the leg stump.
When the rain resumed, Jones and Sciver-Brunt were eight balls short of the 20 overs needed to make a match, having put on an uninterrupted stand of 48 off 50 balls for the second wicket.