India women’s cricket team faced England in the third and final ODI, at Lord’s, on Saturday (September 24) with a 2-0 lead in their kitty. With Jhulan Goswami playing her last international match, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian eves were desperate to give her a fitting farewell and not become complacent with the series already in their pocket.
Opting to bowl first, England dismissed India for a paltry 169. Smriti Mandhana (50) and Deepti Sharma’s 68 were the only stand-out batting performances. Later, the Indian bowlers rose to the occasion and reduced the hosts to 65 for 7. From thereon, Charlotte Dean (47) led her side’s recovery before Deepti ran her out as the former kept leaving her crease at the non-striker’s end at regular intervals. After resorting to the controversial dismissal, which is within the laws of the game, Deepti addressed the reporters after returning to India.
“It was a part of our plan because we had warned her and she was doing it again and again. Whatever we did was as per the rules. We had also told the umpire about it,” Deepti told reporters after arriving in India.
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A lot of noise has been created on social media platforms following the mankad dismissal at Lord’s. Dean was involved in a vital 35-run last-wicket stand with Freya Davies before the run-out ended a low-scoring thriller at the iconic venue. While many former English cricketers continued to express their displeasure, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) — who are the custodians of both laws and spirit of the game — stated that the umpires officiated the final ODI properly.
“Whilst yesterday was indeed an unusual end to an exciting match, it was properly officiated and should not be considered as anything more,” the MCC, owner of the Lord’s ground, revealed via a statement.
On the other hand, former Indian captain-turned-commentator Anjum Chopra told ANI, “I see no fault of anyone in that is within the laws of the game. She appealed. The umpires gave Charlie Dean out. So, I don’t see any controversy being created. If a player is clean bowled, you don’t go up with the umpire to check whether the player is bowled or not and then create a controversy oh! You know you are only supposed to dislodge one bail of the stumps. So, I think it is pretty baseless. I see no reason why a controversy should be there. It is very much within the laws. It can happen with an Indian player as well tomorrow. If players from other nationalities can run out another, if he or she is backing up. I saw the game. I have seen ball-by-ball. So, I don’t know exactly what happened when but it is pretty irrelevant. I don’t see any reasoning for being upset with Deepti Sharma or taking away from the fact that it took the sheen from Jhulan Goswami’s last game.”
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