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England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt praised a “special” innings of heather knight The former captain’s brilliant century helped seal a four-run win. India To book a World Cup semi-final spot.
Knight, who had been troubled by a hamstring problem over the summer, marked his 300th international appearance with an excellent 109, which was the mainstay of England’s 288 for eight, with India struggling to take consistent wickets.
set highest ODI In the run-chase, India looked to be in good shape after half-centuries from captain Harmanpreet Kaur (70) and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (88) – only for the England bowlers to put on some late pressure to ease the partisan crowd as hopes of a home win faded.
“Heather’s innings was special,” Sciver-Brunt said in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.
“His use of the sweep and reverse-sweep was brilliant. We messed up in the last five-six overs, but got vital runs from Charlie (Dean).”
Sciver-Brunt praised his team’s determination, after their last match against Pakistan in Colombo was abandoned after England were reduced to 79 for seven.
“I’m very happy,” she said. “Everyone showed how calm they were and were really clear about what they wanted to do.
“We knew throughout the bowling innings that we really needed to hold on.
“Obviously there was a partnership with Harman and Smriti and it looked like they would get it easily, but we knew that if we got wickets at one end, we could really put the pressure on.”
Sciver-Brunt said: “We weren’t tested with the ball at the end of the innings, so we wanted to be prepared for that, but everyone came up with great plans and executed brilliantly.”
England’s next match will be against Australia in Indore on Wednesday.
“The Australia game is a game to look forward to and come fighting for,” Sciver-Brunt said. “We are happy to qualify, but want to bring some confidence into the knock-outs.”
After registering her third ODI century, Knight was happy with her match-deciding innings.
“It was nice to get the conditions because it was a little bit more batting friendly,” he said. “I just wanted to keep the accelerator down because I felt we needed 300 on that pitch.
“I was a bit disappointed with the way I got out, but I’m really happy. With 300 caps, I was desperate to put in a great performance.”
It was the third consecutive defeat for tournament co-hosts India, who now face a battle to secure the final qualification berth, having appeared in a strong position at the halfway point of their run-chase.
“Smriti’s wicket was the turning point for us,” said Kaur, whose team had scored 234 runs for three wickets.
“We still had the batsmen, but I don’t know how things went the other way. Credit to England – they didn’t lose hope.
“It’s a bad feeling when you’ve worked so hard, but the last five or six overs don’t go according to plan.
“It’s a heart-breaking moment. We are playing good cricket, we are not giving up, but we have to cross the line.”