ICC Women's World Cup 2017: Jhulan Goswami's terrific second spell is SK play of the day
India's most experienced bowler came to their rescue to pull them out of a tight spot against England in the final of the ICC Women's World Cup.
Mithali Raj's team was firmly on the back-foot in the middle of the England innings when Sarah Taylor and Natalie Sciver were facing the Indian bowlers with considerable ease and calm. The two batters stitched a partnership of 83 runs and it was looking increasingly tough for the visitors to find a way through either one of the two.
The scoreboard read 133 for the loss of three wickets in 30 overs.
Also read: India v England ICC Women's World Cup, 2017: Live updates and commentary
That's when Raj turned to her most dependable campaigner, Jhulan Goswami and the 34-year-old responded and responded how!
She struck in the second over of the spell and sent Taylor back to the pavilion on the fourth delivery. The ball was going down the leg-side, but Taylor nicked it to Sushma Verma while trying to flick the ball to square-leg.
WATCH THE INCREDIBLE SPELL HERE
Goswami trapped Fran Wilson leg-before-wicket off the very next delivery, thereby turning the match on its head. She could not complete her hat-trick, but the damage had already been done.
She wasn't done wreaking havoc though.
The pacer then changed ends and in the 38th over, she dismissed Sciver off the first delivery. The right-handed batsman wanted a review of the LBW decision, and the review showed ball hitting the stumps cleanly.
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Her numbers for today's match read: 10 overs, 3 wickets, 23 runs and 3 maidens with an economy rate of under 3. The jam-packed stadium applauded her after she finished her quota and it was heartening to see a bowler get noticed for her Herculean effort.
The right-hander now has 195 ODI wickets and might reach the 200-mark soon. She saved her best for the knock-out games of the tournament and made sure that she does not disappoint on the biggest of stages.
She bowled a cracking delivery to Meg Lanning in the semi-final on Thursday, sending the best Australian batswoman back to the pavilion at a crucial stage.
She again turned up again today and hit the deck hard from her very first over. England, at the end of their innings, had put up 228 and India will want to chase the total down and win their first ever World Cup.