The Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma emerged as the clutch player for London Spirit in the women's The Hundred Final against Welsh Fire at Lord's on Sunday. August 18.
London Spirit Women clinched their first-ever The Hundred title with a four-wicket win over Welsh FIre. With a target of 116, London chased it down with two balls to spare. Georgia Redmayne led the batting with an innings of 34 off 32 balls, while skipper Heather Knight and Danielle Gibson scored 24 and 22, respectively.
Deepti Sharma also played a crucial role in London Spirit's title win. With 4 runs required off 3 balls, Sharma was on strike and hit a six off Hayley Matthews to take the team past the finish line. She danced down the track, lofted the ball towards long-on, where Shabnim Ismail attempted a catch but dropped it, allowing the ball to clear the boundary. The video of the same went viral on social media.
Another video went viral on social media, where dugout of London Spirit went from nervousness to excitement after Deepti Sharma hit a winning six to help the side clinch their maiden title. Skipper Heather Knight and other players were keeping the ball when Deepti hit a six and once, the ball cleared the boundary rope, London Spirit erupted in joy and ran onto the field to celebrate with Deepti and the team's victory.
After opting to bowl first by skipper Heather Knight, London Spirit restricted Welsh Fire to 115/8 in 100 balls. Sarah Glenn led the bowling with the figures of 2/17 in 20 balls, while Eva Gray too picked two wickets but conceded 26 runs in 20 balls. Tara Norris and Deepti Sharma picked a wicket each.
For Welsh Fire, Jess Jonassen was the star performer with a knock of 54 off 41 balls while Hayley Matthews and skipper Tammy Beaumont scored 22 and 21. Despite Welsh Fire posting a solid total on the board in the just 100 balls, they failed to defend the total. Hayley Mathews was not too good with the ball as he conceded 34 runs in 18 balls, while Jonassen was the economical bowler with an economy rate of 0.80.
'Deepti held her nerves and did it for us': Heather Knight
London Spirit skipper Heather Knight lauded Deepti Knight for holding her nerves under pressure and taking the team to finish line with a six. He also praised on her players for playing their respective roles in their team's title win.
"Not the best watch to be honest, it was nervy chasing but Deepti is an experienced player, she held her nerves and did it for us." Knight said at the post-match presentation.
"Our international players were great. Everyone has played their roles well. I think we recruited really well, picking Meg and Georgia. Absolutely stoked with Deepti, she has been brilliant with both bat and ball. Eva Gray was good with the ball as well." she added.
In the last three editions of the Women's The Hundred, London Spirit failed to qualify for the playoffs. In the recently concluded edition of the tournament, Spirit not just made it to the playoffs but also went on to clinch the title.