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ICC Women’s World Cup 2017: India’s Road to Finals
The India vs England Women's World Cup final match will be played at Lord's Cricket Ground on Sunday.
India emphatically stormed in to the ICC Women’s World Cup finals courtesy Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 171 against holders Australia on Thursday.
They will meet hosts England in the title-decider on Sunday. India beat England in the tournament opener.
India won five out of their seven matches in the groups stages and their only defeats came against South Africa and Australia.
India beat Australia in the semi-final by 36 runs in a match shortened due to rains. India posted 281/7 in 42 overs and later bundled out Meg Lanning’s side for 245.
After 2005, this is the second time that the Indian women’s team have made a place in the World Cup final.
India won five out of their seven round-robin matches and here’s a lowdown to their road to finals.
India vs England
Batting first, Mithali Raj-led India Women posted 281/3 in their 50 overs at the tournament opener at Derby. Punam Raut, Smriti Mandhana and skipper Mithali Raj hit their respective half-centuries in reaching a competitive total. India began their campaign in style and bowled out the hosts for 246 runs in 47.3 overs winning the match by 35 runs.
India vs West Indies
Smriti Mandhana began from where she left in the last match against England. After missing out on her century against England, she hammered the West Indies bowlers to hit an unbeaten 106 runs.
Also read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2017: All you need to know about India’s Smriti Mandhana
Batting first, West Indies could manage only a paltry 183/8 in 50 overs. Poonam Yadav, Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur shared 2 wickets each between them. Mandhana’s century knock coupled with Mithali Raj’s 46 saw India register back-to-back wins after they beat the Windies by 7 wickets.
India vs Pakistan
India came against a wounded Pakistan team but this match was epic in all proportions especially with pride and bragging rights at stake. Pakistan bowled extremely well to restrict India to a meagre 169/9 in 50 overs. However, India’s Ekta Bisht cast her spin and took a 5-wicket haul to bundle out the arch-rivals for 79 runs. India eventually won the match by 95 runs and made it three-on-three.
India vs Sri Lanka
India were now becoming a formidable force and next on their fixture wwas Sri Lanka. Batting first, India posted 232/8 in 50 overs after Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma hit their respective half-centuries. The bowlers yet again shone for India as they restricted Sri Lanka to 216/7 to win their fourth successive match by 16 runs.
India vs South Africa
India were riding high after a solid start to their campaign. India were up against South Africa at Leicester. Lizelle Lee’s 92 helped South Africa post 273/9 in 50 overs. It however, didn’t appear to be India’s day as they tasted their first defeat of the tournament against the Proteas. India lost the match by a whopping 115 runs as they were all out for 158 runs.
India vs Australia
India came into this match at the back of a disappointing defeat against the Proteas. Facing the defending champions after this loss didn’t do any good to them. Despite a fighting century by Punam Raut, India were restricted to 226/7 at Bristol. Australia appeared to be in a hurry to finish the match and chased down the target in 45.1 overs and winning the match by 8 wickets.
India vs New Zealand
This was a make-or-break clash for the Indian team and they made it count. Batting first, India posted 265/7 courtesy a century (109) by Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy’s 70. To everyone’s surprise, New Zealand were all out for 79 runs after Rajeshwari Gayakwad wreaked havoc by picking up 5 wickets.
India vs Australia (Semi-Final)
Who can forget this epic clash on Thursday. India had already lost to the Aussies in the first match but there was no room for error in this clash.
A match marred by rains which eventually became a 42-runs-per-over match, India batted first. After a slow start, Harmanpreet Kaur batted like a dream smashing an unbeaten 171 off 115 balls to power India to 281/4 in 42 overs. Australia fell short by 36 runs after getting bowled out for 245.
Also read: Sachin Tendulkar Letter Helped Harmanpreet Kaur Land a Job in Western Railway
The India vs England Women’s World Cup final match will be played at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Sunday.
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