After beating hosts England, eves look for second victory

Taunton : Brimming with confidence after shocking world No. 2 England, India would look to continue the winning momentum when they take on West Indies in their second match of the ICC Women’s World Cup here tomorrow. The Indian eves could not have asked for a better start to the tournament as they stunned hosts England by 35 runs in their tournament-opener. West Indies, incidentally, had lost to world No. 1 Australia by eight wickets in their opening match. Fine show It was a fine all-round performance by India that helped them beat England as the visiting team excelled in all three departments of the game. First the batters piled up a very competitive 281/3, before the bowlers bundled out England for 246 in 47.3 overs. The Indian fielders rose to the occasion, effecting four run-outs. Openers Smriti Mandhana (90), Poonam Raut (86), Mithali Raj (71) and Harmanpreet Kaur (24 not out) excelled with the bat, while off-spinner Deepti Sharma (3/47), medium-pacer Shikha Pandey (2/35) and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav (1/51) were among the wickets. Captain Mithali said the win has boosted the team’s confidence. “We won against the hosts in the World Cup when we have only four or five girls who have played in a World Cup before — for the rest, it was their first World Cup,” she said today. “So considering all those factors, it’s great that the team has done well but it’s only the first game.”

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