India put up a tough fight but England lift the World Cup. It is the fourth time England has won, following successes in 1973, 1993 and 2009.
Chasing a tricky total of 229, Indian middle-order collapsed like a pack of cards, being bowled out for 219 in 48.4 overs.
However, the cricket fraternity along with the Prime Minister applauded team India's effort.
It was a case of so near yet so far for the Indian team who would be devastated having come within a sniffing distance of a historic triumph.
The last seven wickets fell for a mere 28 runs in 6.5 overs as India were cruising along at 191 for 3 at one stage before Veda Krishnamurthy’s (35) atrocious shot selection brought the Englishwomen back into the game.
It was after opener Poonam Raut (86 of 115 balls) anchored the innings while Harmanpreet Kaur hit a couple of sixes in her innings of 51.
Earlier, Natalie Sciver’s 51 and Sarah Taylor’s 45 laid the foundation for England’s decent total of 228 for 7.
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India needs 11 more runs in two overs, with one wicket left in hand, India seems to be struggling to keep up with the pressure.
India faces another blow as Mithali is run out at 17. Early setback for India, Smriti Mandhana departs, India 6-1.
Electing to bat, England posted 228 for seven against India.
Brief scores:
England: 228 for 7 in 50 overs (Natalie Sciver 51, Sara Taylor 45; Jhulan Goswami 3/23).
After an entertaining partnership, the experienced Jhulan Goswami dismissed Sarah Taylor and Wilson off consecutive deliveries to peg England back.
After early jitters, Sciver and Taylor put on half-century partnership.
After Gayakwad removed Winfield, Poonam Yadav quickly moved into the act by removing Beaumont and England captain Knight to put England on the backfoot.
After some excellent spells from Gayakwad, Goswami, the pressure ended up with Winfield losing her wicket to Gayakwad.
Three boundaries in the first over of spin from Gayakwad.
Two boundaries in the second over as England begins their innings steadily.
England won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the ICC Women World Cup 2017 finals at Lords on Sunday
Both India and England made no changes to their team.
England starts as favourite to lift its fourth Women’s World Cup title, but faces an Indian side high on confidence after knocking out defending champion Australia in the semifinals.
England, captained by Heather Knight, holds the head-to-head advantage over India in the 50-over format at World Cups, with six wins to the visitor’s four.
But the Indian squad’s ability to grind out results under pressure will not have gone unnoticed, least of all by the English, who were beaten by India by 35 runs in their first match of the tournament. Since that defeat the host has won seven matches in a row to reach the final.
(With inputs from PTI)
