Deepti shines in London Spirit’s maiden Hundred title

London, August 19

India all-rounder Deepti Sharma played a crucial role with both bat and ball as London Spirit won their maiden Women’s Hundred title, beating Welsh Fire by four wickets in the final at the Lord’s here.

Deepti snapped a wicket giving away just 23 runs and then smashed a run-a-ball 16, including the winning six off Hayley Matthews, as the Indian and England’s Charlie Dean jumped into each other’s arms in celebration.

Two years ago, Deepti had controversially dismissed Dean after running her out at the non-striker’s end during the third ODI against England in 2022, triggering a debate over the spirit of the game.

It was ecstasy for Deepti and despair for Dean that day but here the two were on the same side, engineering the maiden victory after chasing down a victory target of 116 in 98 balls.

Spirit’s Eva Gray (2/26) and Sarah Glenn (2/17) snapped two wickets each, while Tera Norris (1/18) also chipped in with a wicket to restrict Welsh Fire to 115/8 in the stipulated 100 balls, which was mainly built on the 41-ball 54 by Australia’s Jess Jonassen.

In reply, Georgia Redmayne anchored the chase with a 32-ball 34. Heather Knight (24) and Danielle Gibson (22) also chipped in with useful contributions even as Shabnim Ismail threatened to derail the chase with figures of 3/24 in her 20 balls.

But Deepti then took the onus on herself and produced the only maximum of the match in the nick of time to take her team home. “To hit the six to win the game, a great feeling. I was not nervous, I had confidence I could do it. I think positive,” Deepti said.

After being unused in 2022 and not picked in 2023, Deepti left her mark in this edition. In eight matches, she scored 212 runs at a strike rate of 132.50 and took 8 wickets at an economy rate of 6.85. In the six innings she played, Deepti remained unbeaten five times. Her best performance came in the tie against Oval Invincibles, in which she scored 44 off 34 before taking 3/18.

Among the Indians, Deepti had the best time in the tournament. Smriti Mandhana scored just 60 runs in five games for Southern Brave, while Richa Ghosh scored 62 in five games for Birmingham Phoenix but at a lower strike rate.

Harmanpreet in WBBL draft

Harmanpreet Kaur is among the first group of players confirmed for the WBBL draft. The India captain could be retained by Melbourne Renegades. Batter Jemimah Rodrigues and all-rounder Deepti Sharma have also been confirmed for the draft. — Agencies