Deepti

With both teams vying for their first World Cup title, the pre-match talk was all about who could handle the occasion – India with the enormous amount of expectation, contrasted with whether South Africa could use the underdog tag in their favour.

With rain washing out any hopes of starting on time, it was inevitable the captain who won the toss would bowl first but the Navi Mumbai surface remained batter-friendly as it had been in India’s high-scoring semi-final against Australia, exemplified by Smriti Mandhana and Verma calmly cruising to 64-0 in the powerplay.

It was actually South Africa’s bowlers who appeared consumed by the occasion as they bowled too wide to the openers, who reeled off the boundaries with ease, before Mandhana was caught behind off Chloe Tryon and Verma chipped Ayabonga Khaka to mid-off.

The Proteas’ ground fielding was brilliant, but they were guilty of dropping five catches including a crucial drop by Anneke Bosch with Verma on 56, while Deepti was also put down on 35 and 37.

Verma was visibly distraught to miss out on a World Cup century but it was a staggering knock considering the lateness of her inclusion in the side and the magnitude of the game, and its attacking nature was invaluable in taking the pressure off the tournament’s poster girl, Mandhana.

Jemimah Rodrigues, the semi-final hero, fell for 24 two overs after Verma which gave South Africa a chance to regain control, but India showed impressive composure in keeping partnerships ticking over, anchored by Deepti, before Richa Ghosh’s dynamic 34 from 24 balls ensured they finished with a late flourish.

Though it required a record chase, there was a sense that India did not have enough to feel completely comfortable – only adding 69 in the final 10 overs for the loss of three wickets – with the context of India’s semi-final chase of 339.

Though Deepti’s all-round performances have been sensational all tournament, few would have predicted that Verma would also be her accomplice with the ball.

India staged a brilliant comeback after a middle-order collapse to beat Sri Lanka by 59 runs in a rain-affected opening match of the Women’s World Cup in Guwahati.

The hosts lost four wickets for four runs in the space of 11 balls, including three in the 26th over for spinner Inoka Ranaweera, which saw them slip to 124-6.

But Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma produced a match-winning partnership of 103 for the seventh wicket as Sri Lanka were unable to maintain their initial discipline in the field, with the former dropped four times on her way to 57.

Sneh Rana added some late impetus with 28 from 15 balls and Sharma fell for 53 from the last ball of the innings as India recovered to post a competitive 269-8 from 47 overs, with three overs lost from rain delays.

That saw Sri Lanka’s target revised to 271 from the same amount of overs, and they made a promising start by reaching 82-1 but skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s dismissal for 43 at the end of the 15th over stalled their progress.

Athapaththu’s second-wicket stand of 52 with Harshitha Samarawickrama kept the visitors in the game, but they lacked India’s batting depth and could not recover from a slump to 140-6 and they were eventually bowled out for 211 in the 46th over.

Sharma added figures of 3-54 to her half-century as India entertained a lively crowd of 22,843 – a record for a Women’s World Cup group game – while fellow spinners Sneh Rana and Shree Charani took 2-32 and 2-37 respectively.

The tournament continues with defending champions Australia taking on New Zealand in Indore on Wednesday, while England start their campaign against South Africa on Friday.

A below-par performance from England saw India seal a four-wicket win in the first one-day international in Southampton.

Chasing 259 to win, India all-rounder Deepti Sharma’s unbeaten 62 saw the tourists reach their target with 10 balls to spare.

The dismissals of Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh in quick succession, with 24 runs still needed from 27 balls, gave England a glimmer of hope and the prospect of a tense finale but Amanjot Kaur held her nerve with 20 not out to see India to their second-highest successful chase in ODIs.

Amid a sloppy fielding effort, England also paid the price for failing to review an lbw against Sharma when she was on 40.

It is a crucial series for England, who are looking to gain confidence from their final three matches in the format before the autumn’s World Cup in India.

The positives included Sophia Dunkley’s well-paced 83 from 92 balls, and Alice Davidson-Richards made 53 as they rescued an innings that was teetering at 97-4.

Openers Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones both fell cheaply to young seamer Kranti Goud, before Nat Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb fell in consecutive Sneh Rana overs, having added 71 for the third wicket.

Dunkley and Davidson-Richards dropped anchor with a steady and sensible stand of 106, and despite scoring 36 from the final three overs, it proved that England left it too late to accelerate with five wickets still in hand.

The three-match series continues at Lord’s on Saturday.