I'm not a fan but within the rules, declares Amy Jones after mankading incident
Amy Jones chose to give India the benefit of the doubt after a loss in the final ODI came when the team's last wicket fell through a run-out on the non-striker's end. She admitted the dismissal would split the room of opinion, before praising her young team for their outings in the series.
Jhulan Goswami's swansong was a fitting end to an illustrious 19-year-career, packed with drama and a thrilling finish. The iconic Lord's on Saturday was the stage for a Women's ODI for the ages, as both India and England had a rollercoaster of fortunes that ultimately ended up in the visitors' favour by 16 runs.
Batting first, the Women in Blue lost wickets in a flurry in the early stages and were reduced to 29-4 with in-form skipper Harmanpreet Kaur back in the dugout as well. However, opener Smriti Mandhana anchored along the batting unit with a gritty half-century but ended up bizarrely playing a bouncer onto her stumps off Katie Cross' bowling. The 30-year-old eventually snared incredible figures of 10-2-26-4, having uprooted the stumps of all of the top three. With India staring at a lowly target, all-rounder Deepti Sharma came to the rescue with a valiant unbeaten 68 off 106 deliveries, helping set a target of 170.
In response, the hosts crumbled to an exhibition of swing bowling by Renuka Thakur who took her second consecutive four-wicket haul. The pacer got rid of the top-three in a marathon seven-over opening spell and had England reeling at 53-6. Skipper Amy Jones tried to take charge with a fighting 28 but once she left England hanging at 103-8, the encounter looked like a foregone conclusion. However, Charlie Dean had other ideas and stuck in with the tail to accumulate 47 runs taking the Three Lions ever so close to victory before a controversial incident spoiled her party. Backing up on the non-striker's end, Dean strayed too far from the crease before the ball left Deepti's hand who decided to take off the bails. The decision went in her favour, thus handing India a historic whitewash.
"Not happy with the result, we bowled really well, we just needed a bigger partnership. The last dismissal divides opinion. I'm not a fan but it depends how India feel about it. It's within the rules, hopefully doesn't take the shine off the summer," Jones was quoted saying by India Today in the post-match press conference.
England were missing key players in the series including regular skipper Heath Knight and Natalie Sciver. However, a young pace attack of Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp troubled a formidable Indian batting lineup on multiple occasions, serving as a silver lining for the hosts.
"It's been a massive learning experience. We learnt the hard way in the 2nd ODI with some practical errors. The girls have been supportive. We're looking forward to have Heath back. The average age is pretty low with Capsey, Kempy and it has been a brilliant summer for us. Charlotte Dean looked good out there, she absorbed the pressure and knuckled down - not sure she was getting out any other way," Jones concluded.