India Women registered a consolation win in the third and final ODI against England Women on Saturday. Locking horns at Worcester’s New Road, the Mithali Raj-led side defeated Heather Knight & Co. by 4 wickets to end the series on a high note.
During the first innings, Team India star player Smriti Mandhana pulled off a stunning catch in the deep to deny England’s Natalie Sciver a half-century.
Batting on 49, Sciver looked to clear the field on the leg side but mistimed her shot. In the meantime, Mandhana ran to her left, dived full-length while keeping her eyes on the ball and completed the catch.
Mandhana’s incredible effort was appreciated by fans and former cricketers on Twitter.
Here’s the video of Mandhana’s brilliance:
https://twitter.com/Abhicricket18/status/1411333052219854849
Former Australia all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar lauded Mandhana’s fantastic catch and wrote: “Fly Smriti fly girl….fantastic catch.”
Fly Smriti fly girl….fantastic catch 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) July 3, 2021
“Smriti Mandhana showing her timing in field is just as good as her batting. A classic catch on the boundary to get the key wicket of Sciver. #EngvInd,” tweeted cricketer-turned-commentator Mel Jones.
Smriti Mandhana showing her timing in field is just as good as her batting. A classic catch on the boundary to get the key wicket of Sciver. #EngvInd https://t.co/Vpf9GNTLAN
— Mel Jones (@meljones_33) July 3, 2021
“That’s a stunner from @mandhana_smriti.. You little beauty Smriti.,” commented former India head coach WV Raman.
Mandhana later got Indian women off to a flying start, smashing five boundaries off the first 25 balls she faced, including three in one over from Katherine Brunt.
During the second innings, India captain Mithali Raj also surpassed former England skipper Charlotte Edward’s tally of 10,273 runs to become the leading scorer across formats in women’s international cricket.
Both teams will now lock horns in the three-match T20I series starting next week.
