Watch: Natalie Sciver survives after a delivery from Jhulan Goswami fails to dislodge the bails in WCW 2022
England batter Natalie Sciver had a lucky escape in the game against India in the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup (WCW). Jhulan Goswami's delivery nipped back and found Sciver's inside edge as she tried to flick it. The ball parried back onto stumps, but the bails refused to dislodge, giving the 29-year-old a second life at the crease.
The incident took place in the fifth over of England's innings. Natalie Sciver smashed the first ball that she faced in the match for a boundary. Jhulan, though, came back strong after being hit for four runs. The next two deliveries were dots before she nearly got the prized scalp of Natalie off the fourth delivery.
Immediately after the incident, Sciver came down hard at Jhulan and clubbed the fifth ball of the over for another four, wide of mid-on. The batter blocked the last ball, with England scoring eight runs in this over.
Charlotte Dean, Heather Knight and Natalie Sciver star in England's win
After being asked to bat first in this match, India Women failed to put up a show as they did in their last game against the West Indies Women. Some disciplined bowling from the English women put the brakes on the scoring rate and helped mount the pressure on the opposition.
India Women kept losing wickets at regular intervals while trying to break free and lost three wickets for just 28 runs at one stage. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, the stars in the last match, tried to resurrect the innings and started building a partnership just before Charlotte Dean wreaked havoc with the ball.
She dismissed Harmanpreet (14 off 26 balls) and Sneh Rana (0 off 2 balls) in the same over, putting India on the back foot again. Smriti was dismissed soon after by Sophie Ecclestone for 35 runs, and the side was ultimately bundled out for 134 runs. Dean picked up four wickets with the ball.
Crucial from our captain today 👏
#CWC22 | @Heatherknight55 https://t.co/kF4BoTEDLX
India's new-ball bowlers Jhulan Goswami and Meghna Singh put pressure on the Brits by dismissing the openers in quick succession. However, Heather Knight (53* off 72 balls) and Natalie Sciver (45 off 46 balls) ensured their team got home in 31.2 overs with four wickets to spare.
India Women are now third in the points table with two wins in four games, while this victory was the first win for England Women in the tournament.