ENG-W vs IND-W, Watch | ‘Got to learn that from Rishabh Pant’ - Deepti replicates Pant’s one-handed six off Lauren Bell

ByUmesh Sharma,SportsCafe Editor

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Deepti Sharma smashing one-handed six off Lauren Bell in 1st ODI

Deepti Sharma’s brilliant batting performance helped India Women beat England Women by 4 wickets in the first ODI. Deepti went unbeaten in the end to execute a successful run chase for India against the star-studded bowling lineup of England Women. India got a lead of 1-0 in the three-match series.

England Women skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and decided to bat first. Batting first, the Englishwomen posted a total of 258/6 in the allotted 50 overs. Star middle-order batter Sophia Dunkley played a crucial knock of 83 runs off 92 balls, with nine fours, following 39 and 41 runs scored by Emma Lamb and skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt. Kranti Goud and Sneh Rana scalped 2 wickets each for India in the first innings, alongside a wicket each picked by Amanjot Kaur and Shree Charani.

Meanwhile, what attracted eyeballs and caught the attention of the fans were Deepti Sharma's heroics in the second innings, especially her one-handed off Lauren Bell on the third ball of the 38th over. It happened when Bell delivered a length ball around off stump, the Indian all-rounder picked it up brilliantly and launched it over deep midwicket region, and what fascinated the fans was that it turned out to be a one-handed six, which went straight outside the boundary line. Deepti herself spoke about this shot in the post-match presentation and said that she learned this shot from the star India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant.

“I have worked on my sweep shots in my earlier days. In these pitches, it helps. (On one-handed six) I have played these shots in practice. I got to learn that shot from Rishabh Pant. We played in England before. We enjoy each of these conditions,” said Deepti during the post-match presentation.

On the back of Deepti Sharma’s unbeaten 62 runs off 64 balls, with three fours and a six, following Jemimah’s 48 runs off 54 balls, with five fours, India Women comfortably chased down the target, scoring 262/6 in 48.2 overs and winning the game by 4 wickets with eight balls to spare. Sharma also won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for her match-defining performance.

Deepti Sharma channels inner Rishabh Pant: