Jhulan Goswami's final match ended in controversy as Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean with 17 runs to win. Dean thought Deepti Sharma had completed her action and bowled the ball only to look on in horror as the bowler dislodged the bails at her end. Goswami should have been cheered off the field by the whole ground; Lord's rang out to jeers as Charlie Dean took England close to an improbable win.
India had earlier been bowled out for 169 as Kate Cross got her chance to shine at Lord's after omission from the England World Cup Squad in 2017.
England didn't find batting any easier. India turned the screw, and England had few answers even though it would have taken just a couple of partnerships together to secure their first win of the Royal London One Day series.
Freya Kemp wasn't born when Goswami made her debut for India, and it was the young left-arm allrounder who spoiled the show, bowling one of the true greats of the game for a first-ball duck.
By that stage, India were in deep trouble after England won the toss and asked their visitors to bat in the final Royal London OID at Lord's, the first time either side had played here since the 2017 World Cup Final.
A noticeable absentee that day was Kate Cross, who didn't quite make the final 15 who lifted the trophy. It led Cross to question her future in the game, highlighting how challenging sport at the top level can be. Cross could easily have been livid, but she was back representing England after some reflection.
This match felt like a day of redemption, a chance to show what England was missing out on, and she proved that Lord's is where she belongs with figures of four for 26. She bowled the dangerous Shafali Verma with her fifth ball of the day and, with the first ball of her second over, knocked over Yastika Bhatia.
Smriti Mandhana (50)had started confidently attacking the returning Freya Davies but retreated from her more attacking nature to rebuild the innings first with Harmanpreet Kaur (4), who Cross bowled. Then, it was with Deepti Sharma that she had more success adding 58 for the fifth wicket.
It was hard going to the Indian batters, who never looked totally at ease, although Sharma didn't look like she would get out.
Cross from her first spell returned figures of three for 11. At the same time, the spinners of Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Emma Lamb bowled well, giving the batters little but without looking particularly threatening.
Sharma, on occasion, looked like she was going to break free and find the boundary easily on her way to 68 not out. The only other Indian batter to reach double figures was Pooja Vastrakar, with 22 from 38 balls in a total of 169 all out.
Thakur, not for the first time this summer, ripped apart England's top order when what was called for was a calm approach. England's openers were building a steady platform before Emma Lamb advanced past a Thakur delivery and Yastika Bhatia made the stumping.
Until that moment, Lamb was in control; she had got to 21 with relative comfort. She was more composed than her teammates, who fell between being too eager to get on with the job or stuck in defence.
To a certain extent, that was partly down to inexperience, and if they had found room in the team for Alice Davidson-Richards, she might have found the right balance needed for the chase.
An eighth-wicket partnership between Amy Jones, England's stand-in skipper and Charlie Dean of 38 was slowly inching England back in the game. With plenty of balls to get the remaining runs, there was little pressure to go big. But, when you are finding the field rather than the gaps, you tell yourself that you need to do something different and that happened to Jones on 28, as she pulled a shot straight at Harleen Deol at Deep mid-wicket. After that, Jones knew it was probably the end of England's chances.
Dean has proven a valuable source of runs in England's lower order, so it proved again today that she just needed Cross and Davies support at the end. Cross eventually went with 52 runs still required; Goswami, in her final ever over, bowled Cross, who took a big swipe across the line.
The Southern Vipers allrounder was on 47 from 80 balls when Sharma dismissed Dean to prevent what could have been a thrilling finish for England at Lord's.
Photo credit: ECB Images
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