Heavy Downpours Spares The English Team and Ruins Pakistan Dreams of Memorable Win
The Pakistani team was inches away from their first ODI win against England in Colombo on Wednesday, arriving at an unbeaten 34 in pursuit of a revised Duckworth-Lewis-Stern goal of 113 prior to pouring rain halted their chances to create history.
England's Batting Collapse
The English batting lineup has faltered from crisis to crisis in this tournament – they had to be bailed out thanks to Heather Knight versus Bangladesh and by Nat Sciver-Brunt against Sri Lanka – in this match it appeared that their frailties would come back to trouble them, when they crumbled to a precarious 79/7 during the first 25 overs.
Showers and Resumption
Postponed first by rain lasting nearly four hours, England returned to score another 54 runs – however, Pakistan's opening pair the duo of Ali and Sohail seemed to be handling easily the pursuit, helped by the unavailability of England’s key strike bowlers Bell and Ecclestone through illness. Only additional rainfall rescued England.
“Pakistan bowled brilliantly and created significant difficulties for us to get into the game at all,” the England captain the captain told Sky Sports. "We didn't meet the standard and we accept responsibility. Everyone’s practising really well and I guess it’s about figuring out how to perform similarly during games.”
Championship Ramifications
The washed-out game indicates that England remain on course to progress to the semi-finals if they manage to win one of their final three group matches facing India, Australia and New Zealand.
Playing Surface and Bowling Excellence
This championship has so far been ideal for spin bowlers, but here it was significant swing which caused problems for England's top batsmen, following heavy rain the previous day which washed out the remaining portion of the Sri Lankan contest with New Zealand. Pakistan's emerging leader Fatima Sana sent down an outstanding spell with figures of 5-1-19-3, comprising a wicket-taking maiden first up, bowling Amy Jones between bat and pad via an inward-moving ball.
Pivotal Events and Decision Review
Heather Knight again rescued herself with a timely DRS review versus Sana which was missing leg stump, however the Pakistan captain to take two wickets in the next over with two more swinging balls – the first of which the captain deflected onto her wickets, and another that hit Knight right in front.
Previously, The English opener had left the ball facing Diana Baig and was dismissed by a nip-backer that grazed the top of her off-stump, while it was the spin from the left side of Sadia Iqbal that dismissed both Dunkley and Lamb.
Tournament Scheduling Questions
Concerns could surface concerning the determination to host part of the World Cup in Colombo during monsoon season, given that this is the third washout at the ground – but England will simply breathe a sigh of relief as they progress toward their next match in Indore.
