‘Men or Women, it’s always the same’- Fans heartbroken as Indian women suffer first defeat at 20-20 World Cup 2023

India’s two-game winning streak in the ongoing Women’s 20-20 World Cup 2023 has come to a staggering halt. England Women defeated India Women by 11 runs at St George’s Oval. Renuka Singh’s bowling performance went in vain, as the batters could not chase down a competitive target in the fixture.

After being put to bat first at Gqeberha in the third round of the group stage fixture, England scored 151 for the loss of seven wickets. England Women had lost three wickets in the powerplay without a substantial number of runs on the scoreboard.

However, Natalie Sciver Brunt and Heather Knight stitched a 51-run partnership to take the team to the calm waters. Amy Jones and Natalie Sciver Brunt provided further impetus to England’s innings to put up a competitive total. Natalie Sciver Brunt scored a half-century while batting first. Renuka Singh was the most effective bowler for India as she picked her first fifer in the T20I. She dismissed five batters in her quota of four overs while conceding just 15 runs.

Chasing a par total at Gqerbha, the opening pair stitched 29 runs in the first three overs to give a push to the chase. However, the innings fell apart as Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur fell in a quick span. Though Smriti Mandana and Richa Ghosh tried to bring the scoreboard on track, they fell short. Smriti Mandana scored a spectacular 52 with seven fours and a six.

On the other hand, Richa Ghosh tried to take the team over the line at the fag end of the innings by scoring 47 of 34 deliveries. Sarah Glenn was the successful English bowler in the fixture as she picked two wickets in her four overs. However, India Women fell short by 11 runs.

The win has made England Women’s pathway to the semifinals easier, whereas the Indian Women’s team will have to win the next game against Ireland Women to qualify for the next round of the campaign. India will play Ireland on 20th February at St George’s Oval. England Women will lock their horns with Pakistan Women on 21st February at Newlands Cricket Ground.

Here’s a look at how fans reacted to India’s first loss:

Agar All-out kardete to acha hote. Zyada aasan target milte#ENGvIND

— Anubhav shahi 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@Anubhavshahi48) February 18, 2023

This is what happens all the time when Indian women team face a strong opposition.

— Varun (@Bansal03V) February 18, 2023

Harmanpreet Kaur hasn't performed well for last 3 years and her captaincy is below average

— Harry (@Harrythegreeaat) February 18, 2023

Men or women it's always the same .
Bilateral me acha karege fir ICC event ke league stage me kuch matches noob team ke khilaf jitege and ache team se or semifinal me harege

— San__x7 (@San35590) February 18, 2023

Played Skippie Mandhana 👍

Think we left it too late to finish it (Unless Ghose does it ) 👀#INDvsENG • @mandhana_smriti pic.twitter.com/xezIEl4hRi

— 𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢 (@SaurabhTripathS) February 18, 2023

Richa Ghosh is built different
What a brave effort#INDvENG #INDWvENGW #INDvsENG #CricketTwitter  #RichaGhosh pic.twitter.com/KpYQ7v2vBF

— Vaibhav Sharma (@vaibhav_4x) February 18, 2023

The Indian Cricket Women's team #INDW needs to improve their running between the wickets. They look very lazy and unfit whenever it comes to running. Though despite such harsh conditions where the outfield is slow af #IndianCricketTeam did a great job❤️#indvseng #ICC

— Cinematic Launda (@CinematicLaunda) February 18, 2023

Smriti played well today. But she almost cost the team 10 runs just by her running. Is it just me or does she need to improve her running? #indvseng #staraikelungal

— Just for Fun (@just_fun_for) February 18, 2023