Indore, Oct 19 (NationPress) Under the vibrant lights of Diwali eve, Holkar Stadium buzzed with excitement as 16,300 fans gathered, hoping to witness an Indian triumph. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur set the scene for India's highest successful chase with a third-wicket partnership exceeding a century.

With just 57 runs needed off 57 balls and seven wickets in hand, India appeared poised to chase down England's 288/8. The atmosphere was electric, and everything seemed to be unfolding as planned until a dramatic collapse occurred, reminiscent of past disappointments.

First, Harmanpreet fell, followed by Smriti. After Deepti Sharma was dismissed post her fifty, India's old adversary—big-match nerves—reared its head, turning what should have been a festive celebration into a tale of lost opportunities. By the time Amanjot Kaur struck a boundary on the final ball, the fireworks lit up for an England victory as India finished at 284/6, just four runs shy.

England, efficient when it mattered, now joins Australia and South Africa in the semi-finals. For India, this marks their third consecutive defeat, jeopardizing their World Cup aspirations. With a critical match against New Zealand on Thursday, the margin for error has vanished.

The anticipated celebration in Indore never materialized, leaving behind a stunned silence and a sense of what might have been. The all-too-familiar feeling of failing to close out games—whether bowling against South Africa or batting against Australia—came back to haunt India yet again, this time against England.

England's victory was anchored by Heather Knight, who scored 109 in her 300th international match, featuring 15 fours and a six. Her innings was an exhibition of superb sweeps, and she partnered with Nat Sciver-Brunt for a 113-run stand that set the foundation for a score above 300.

However, a collapse saw them lose their last five wickets for just 42 runs, concluding at 288/8. It seemed that this collapse might cost them, but it didn’t, particularly as India played with one fewer batter, leaving out Jemimah Rodrigues in favor of pace bowler Renuka Singh Thakur.

With Smriti struggling, Harmanpreet found her rhythm with three leg-side boundaries. Smriti began to catch up, edging and steering Charlie for two fours. In a crucial matchup against Sophie Ecclestone, Harmanpreet prevented her from settling in by driving and lofting for boundaries, even creaming Linsey Smith for four.

When Smriti faced Sophie, she effortlessly cut and flayed for two more boundaries. After Harmanpreet successfully overturned an lbw decision, Smriti reached her fifty in 60 balls while Harmanpreet achieved hers in 54 balls, with both keeping the scoreboard lively through sharp running and boundary hitting.

But Nat had the last laugh as Harmanpreet attempted a steer but was caught at short third man. Smriti continued to shine with her backfoot play, securing boundaries off Charlie and Alice Capsey, while Deepti contributed with ones and twos, alongside boundaries from slog and sweep shots.

In a pivotal moment, Smriti fell just 12 runs short of her century when she failed to get to the pitch of the ball from Linsey and holed out to long-off. With the run rate climbing to seven, Deepti alleviated the pressure with boundaries off Sophie and Nat, reaching her fifty off 55 balls.

However, England struck again as Richa Ghosh chipped to extra cover off Nat, and Deepti got a top-edge on a slog-sweep, leading to a catch at backward point. With 23 runs required off the final two overs, Sneh Rana swept through mid-wicket past two diving fielders for four. Despite Amanjot Kaur hitting a boundary on the last delivery, it was too little too late for India, falling agonizingly short from a winning position.

Earlier, with Renuka failing to capture any wickets despite swinging the ball and Kranti Gaud struggling with her lengths, Amy Jones capitalized by gathering boundaries through drives, flicks, and slices off the latter. While Tammy Beaumont struggled to find her footing, Amy surged ahead with two backfoot boundaries off N Shree Charani, while India missed an lbw review chance against Tammy off Kranti.

However, Deepti Sharma struck shortly after, bowling Tammy with a fuller ball to claim her 150th ODI wicket and break the 73-run opening partnership. Amy reached her first World Cup fifty with a swipe over long-on but was dismissed soon after, lofting Deepti to short mid-on. Heather and Nat steadied England's innings, picking boundaries off Deepti and Amanjot Kaur before shifting gears.

Heather executed sweeps and slog-sweeps effectively, bringing up her fifty in 54 balls with a reverse sweep off Sneh. She continued to dominate with sweeps and reverse sweeps to secure boundaries off Sneh, Charani, and Deepti.

India lost a review trying to overturn a decision against Nat, even when it was clear that Deepti’s ball was heading down the leg side—their eighth unsuccessful review of the tournament, the highest by any team. Relief came when Nat drove Charani through extra cover and was spectacularly caught by Harmanpreet.

Heather received a lifeline on 91 when Deepti dropped a catch at short backward square leg off Renuka, capitalizing by driving through the off-side for four. Despite being beaten in flight by Charani, her edge evaded all to mark her fourth ODI century off 86 balls.

Heather was eventually run out in the 45th over, failing to ground her bat as Amanjot hit the stumps directly. From that point, India clawed back—Charani had Sophia Dunkley holing out to long-off. Deepti dismissed Alice Capsey via reverse sweep to point while Emma Lamb caught long-on. Despite Sophie Ecclestone’s run-out in the final over, England surpassed 280, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the tournament and celebrating victory on Diwali eve.

Brief Scores: England 288/8 (Heather Knight 109, Amy Jones 56; Deepti Sharma 4-51, Shree Charani 2-68) defeated India 284/6 (Smriti Mandhana 88, Harmanpreet Kaur 70; Nat Sciver-Brunt 2-47, Linsey Smith 1-40) by four runs.

-–IANS