England keep slim World Cup hopes alive with four-wicket win over India

England finally got some points on the board in their World Cup title defence, bowling India out for 134 in 36.2 overs – their lowest World Cup total since 2009 – before a see-saw chase got them over the line with four wickets and 112 balls to spare.

Off-spinner Charlie Dean, playing in only her second World Cup match, finished with 4 for 23; while Anya Shrubsole (2 for 20) became the sixth Englishwoman to reach the milestone of 100 wickets in ODIs when she bowled Yastika Bhatia in the fourth over of the day. Heather Knight then returned to form with an unbeaten half-century, keeping her head while wickets fell at the other end, until Sophie Ecclestone finally sealed the deal in the 32nd over with a four slashed over midwicket.

The win means that England have kept their slender hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive, though they remain reliant on other results going their way to avoid a premature exit.

“It’s been a tricky tour,” Shrubsole admitted after play. “It’s been a while since we’ve won. For me personally, I wasn’t anywhere near where I would like to be against West Indies. It takes some honest reflections and some honest conversations with coaches. We haven’t shied away from the fact that we’ve been really poor in the field in the first three games and it’s potentially cost us some wins. It was really nice to put some of that right today, and hopefully it’s a step in the right direction for us moving forward.”

“We’ll celebrate the win, and then it’s about getting to Auckland and turning our attention to the New Zealand game.”

After winning the toss, England had chosen to chase, knowing they needed to do as much as possible to bump up their Net Run Rate in case of a multi-way scrap for a semi-final