Tuesday 25 July 2017 09:43, UK
Anya Shrubsole claimed six wickets and a run out as England launched a stunning comeback to beat India by nine runs and win the Women's World Cup for the fourth time, at Lord's.
Shrubsole (6-46) was involved in six of the final seven wickets to fall as India crumbled from 191-3 to 219 all out in 48.4 overs in pursuit of 229 to win their first World Cup.
Punam Raut's dismissal for 86 triggered a collapse of 7-28 as Shrubsole fired Heather Knight's side to their third title on home soil, following their triumphs in 1973 and 1993.
Natalie Sciver (51) top scored for England in their total of 228-7 but Shrubsole was the hero as the hosts exacted revenge on India for their opening-day defeat in Derby.
England looked set for a formidable total when Sciver and the fleet-of-foot Sarah Taylor (45) put on 83 for the fourth wicket, after Lauren Winfield (24), Tammy Beaumont (23) and captain Knight (1) had fallen for 16 runs in the space of five overs.
Winfield was bowled on the sweep and Knight given lbw on review playing the same shot, while Beaumont - the leading run scorer in the competition, with 410 across nine innings - clubbed a full toss from Poonam Yadav (2-36) to Jhulan Goswami (3-23) at deep midwicket.
Goswami came to fore in the middle overs, having Taylor - who went boundary-less from her 62 deliveries - caught down the leg side and Fran Wilson (0) pinned leg before next ball, before trapping Sciver lbw shortly after as she played across the line.
Katherine Brunt (34), who resolutely blocked Goswami's hat-trick ball, added some impetus late on prior to being run out, while Jenny Gunn (25no) and Laura Marsh (14no) lifted England above 200 in an unbroken stand of 32 for the eighth wicket.
Shrubsole gave England an early lift with the ball by cleaning up Smriti Mandhana (0) through the gate, while India skipper Mithali Raj (17) - the leading run scorer in Women's ODI history and second to Beaumont in this World Cup - gave them another boon when she was dozily run out, Taylor whipping off the bails as Sciver threw from midwicket.
However, Harmanpreet Kaur (51), who hammered Australia for 20 fours and seven sixes in her 171 not out in the semi-finals, put on 95 with Raut for the third wicket, thrashing left-armer Alex Hartley (2-58) for two monstrous maximums before she swept the same bowler to Beaumont at deep square with 91 runs required.
England should have made further breakthroughs - Taylor missing a rare stumping that would have dismissed Raut for 64, off Marsh, and Knight spilling Veda Krishnamurthy's (35) fierce drive at extra-cover when the batsman had 12 as the India pair put on 53.
Shrubsole rendered those errors immaterial, however, with a supreme spell of bowling as she ripped through the India tail, including running out Shikha Pandey from point.
Gunn spilled Poonam at mid-off from the third ball of the penultimate over but Shrubsole cleaned up Rajeshwari Gayakwad next delivery to cap a staggering display, as England made it two wins in three World Cups following their victory in Australia in 2009.
