India women defeated England in the third ODI to complete the 3-0 series sweep. Even with England nine wickets down, Charlie Dean almost took the hosts on the brink of victory. But, Deepti Sharma ran her out at the non-striker's end as she was backing up, to seal India's win.
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During the 170-run chase in the 3rd ODI, Charlie Dean batted brilliantly and stood strong on one end, despite the wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end. In the 44th over of the match, England were at 153/9 with Dean at the non-striker’s end, who was at 47 runs off 80 balls, including 5 fours.
However, Deepti's street smartness worked wonders for the Women in Blue as she caught Dean almost half-way down the crease and completed the run-out.
The on-field umpire referred to the third umpire to check the run-out and as soon as the decision was relayed on the big screen there were loud boos from the crowd.
Watch the video of the run-out below
The 20-year-old was heartbroken as she was walked away in tears after shaking hands with the Indian players. Dean had walked in with England reeling at 65 for seven in chase of 170.
Notably, this move by Deepti is not at all controversial, illegal or unfair as in the latest MCC laws the run-out at the non-striker’s end has been moved to the fair play section.
During the post-match presentation ceremony, England Women’s National Cricket Team captain Amy Jones talked about Dean’s dismissal. She said:
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“The last dismissal divides opinion. I’m not a fan but it depends how India feel about it. It’s within the rules, hopefully doesn’t take the shine off the summer.”
“(Dean) She absorbed the pressure and knuckled down – not sure she was getting out any other way,” she added.
India Women’s National Cricket Team captain Harmanpreet Kaur also talked about Deepti’s move during the post-match presentation ceremony. She said.
“It’s part of the game I don’t think we have done something new. It shows your awareness, what batters are doing. I will back my players, she hasn’t done something outside the rules. After the first game we discussed, we wanted to do really well, we have that much potential. We want to continue this kind of cricket.”
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England pacer Stuart Broad was quick to react to the incident and led reactions from across the cricket fraternity. Broad was unhappy with the manner in which the match ended but faced backlash for the same from plenty of cricket fans and ex-players as the cricket fraternity was divided with their opinions.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Harsha Bhogle, Aakash Chopra also backed Deepti Sharma. Ravichandran Ashwin was also involved in a similar incident a few ago with English batter Jos Buttler in the Indian Premier League (IPL)
