India beats England, sets sights on title

By Steve Whiting

CHRISTCHURCH, DEC. 4. India not only has its sights on the final of the Cricinfo women's World Cup after beating England by eight runs here on Monday - it now thinks it can even win the trophy!

A delighted skipper Anju Jain, the wicket keeper/batsman from Delhi, was so pleased to see her plans working like clockwork in this latest victory - its third out of three - that she sees no reason why India should not go all the way.

``We decided to bat when we won the toss because we have a team of all rounders and we think we can put anybody under pressure if we set them a big enough target to chase,'' she said. ``We lost two early wickets, but we did not panic as we knew we could bat all the way down the order.''

India's biggest test will come on Wednesday when it meets champion Australia, which has also won all its three matches. But it does not worry Anju Jain: ``We can beat them,'' she says. ``But even if we lose this time we can make up for it by beating them in the final.''

At six for two - and the captain out for nought - it did not look as if her gamble was working. But India's policy of playing people who can both bat and bowl paid off. Five batsmen went into double figures with Chandra Kaul hitting 45 off 79 balls, Mithali Raj 32 off 57 and Rapanjali Shastri, who ended up as player of the match, 29 off 29, with two fours and two sixes.

Her late stand of 46 with Smitha Harikrishna took India to 155 and knocked the stuffing out of England. Shastri opened the bowling with her off spinners and soon had Kathryn Leng caught in the gully. When star batsman Barbara Daniels fell lbw to Renu Margrete England was eight for two and on a downward slide it could not arrest. Claire Taylor battled hard for 60 off 93 balls, but poor running and rash strokes meant the rest never looked like overtaking India.

In the end it needed 11 off the final over. But by then Shastri's three for 25 in her 10 overs had done more damage than England could repair.

Meanwhile, at Hagley Park, South Africa shot out Netherlands for 92, but made heavy weather of a measly target, before eventually winning by four wickets, opener Daleen Terblanche remaining unbeaten with 33. The other notable contribution came from the consistent Sunette Viljoen (32).

Earlier, left-arm seamer Levona Lewis had been the pick of the South African bowlers with three for 20. For Netherlands, Maartie Koster (36) was the top-scorer.

The scores: India 155 for seven in 50 overs (Chandrakanta Kaul 45, Mithali Raj 32, Rupanjali Shastri 29) bt England 147 in 49.2 overs (Claire Taylor 60, Rupanjali Shastri three for 25).

Netherlands 92 in 37.1 overs (Maartie Koster 36, Levona Lewis three for 20) lost to South Africa 93 for six in 26.2 overs (Daleen Terblanche 33 not out, Sunette Viljoen 32, Cheraldine Oudolf three for 30).

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : South Africa wraps up series
Next     : ACC to seek one-day status for five countries