Charlie Dean shone on the ball going 4-23 as England eliminated India 135 in the 37th; Nat Sciver (45) and Heather Knight (53) led the way with the bat to boost the 2017 champions’ slim semifinal hopes.
England boosted their World Cup hopes by beating India by four wickets to claim their first win of the tournament thanks to half-centurion captain Heather Knight’s performance and Charlie Dean’s earlier excellence on the ball.
Having won the toss, England challenged their opponents to set the tone before dismissing them for just 135 after off-line Dean’s 4-23 figures.
Subsequently, Nat Sciver led the charge with the bat with a 45 hit and Skipper Knight finished the chase with an undefeated 53 of 72 deliveries.
England had entered the contest on the back of three successive defeats, knowing that they needed wins in each of their last four matches to advance to the semi-finals.
The 2017 champions will now face the New Zealand women on Saturday, followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh the following week.
Smriti Mandhana found herself partnerless at the top of the order for India and saw her opening partner Yastika Bhatia fall to Anya Shrubsole for her 100th ODI wicket.
India trailed 61-5 before Mandhana fell for 35 when she was pinned lbw against Sophie Ecclestone.
Richa Gosh tried to dress up her side’s total a bit more at 33-for-56 until Sciver took her out, and it was Dean, playing in just her second World Cup game, who closed out the innings by pitching to Meghna Singh.
The England chase was dealt an immediate blow when starters Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt each managed just one run.
His departure paved the way for a defining partnership of Sciver (45) and Knight (53 not out), who looked set to see England win.
So much seemed apparent as the duo exchanged fours on the 17th, only for Sciver to time a short ball with a looping shot into the hands of Jhulan Goswami midway through the wicket.
Amy Jones shot 10-for-28 before being ruled out courtesy of an excellent catch by Harmanpreet Kaur midway after hitting her with a six two balls earlier, and Sophia Dunkley ran 17-for-21 to trail behind Richa Gosh.
Katherine Brunt followed suit with a duck two balls later, but England couldn’t refuse when Sophie Ecclestone rolled out a four to seal the victory.
England captain Heather Knight: “A little bit of relief to be honest, I think we just needed that. Probably a bit rudimentary at the end, we lost a few more wickets than we would have liked, but getting over the line is really good for us and hopefully the start of a change of momentum and turn it around a bit.
“We have a long way to go, starting with the next game in Auckland and that is what we are focused on.”
“Obviously we’re very disappointed with how our fielding has gone, the last two games we’ve been desperate to turn it around so I thought the mentality of the girls to do that was great, I think sometimes it’s easy to come into your shell. and when you’re under pressure and things aren’t going well.
Anya Shrubsole on reaching 100 ODI wickets: “Obviously I’m very pleased, I don’t think I would have ever really dreamed of hitting that when I made my debut, so obviously I’m pleased. But I’m more pleased to be able to contribute to the team and I thought as a group we played very well. Obviously, the The way Charlie Dean played was unbelievable.
Watch the England women look to give their World Cup semi-final hopes another boost when they take on the New Zealand women live on Sky Sports this Saturday.
