The twist entwined with Jhulan Goswami’s classic Lord’s farewell!
The twist entwined with Jhulan Goswami’s classic Lord’s farewell! When Jhulan Goswami walked out to bat at Lord’s for the last time for India, the entire England fielding team, the umpires, and her batting partner, Deepti Sharma, formed a guard of honor. We had no idea that Deepti would have a bigger part in Goswami’s last show than we could have ever imagined.
Deepti ran out Charlie Dean while backing up on the last ball of the match to give India the win and a 3-0 ODI series sweep. This ensured that Goswami’s farewell wouldn’t just be remembered as a sport’s goodbye to a champion.
Goswami – the batter
As she walked through the first honor guard, Goswami waved to everyone to show her appreciation and enjoy the moment. But people didn’t come to see Goswami’s batting. It could have made a difference because she was one of five Indian players who left without scoring, but the team still got to 169 runs before being bowled out in the 46th over. And again, Dean hit a remarkable 47 runs at No. 9 to bring England just 17 runs far from their goal.
Goswami – the bowler
Goswami walked out to bowl past another guard of honor from her own team, which followed her almost all the way to the pitch. Her first over was a maiden. At the end of her second, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who made her debut when Goswami was in her position in 2009, ran by and patted her on the back. Harmanpreet seemed to want to enjoy their closeness for as long as possible. Hamanpreet was close by when Goswami fought over the toss. She gave her former captain a teary hug during the team’s pre-game tribute to their beloved star.
The emotional hugs
When Goswami had Harleen Deol catch Alice Capsey at cover point, those eyes turned to the arms of her teammates and the cheers of the thousands of people in the crowd.
After Renuka Singh had taken out Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont, England was at 39 for 3. Tammy Beaumont had said the day before her 100th ODI that she had contributed a lot to Goswami’s record of 255 ODI wickets. Before this match, Beaumont had been out eight times by Goswami out of the twenty times she had been out in this format against India. This time, though, it was Renuka who did the damage, bowling Beaumont with a ball that took the stumps off.
Later, England went from 53 for 6 to 111 for 8, and Harmanpreet brought Goswami back into the game for her eighth over, which gave up two runs.
The attack
The next one was a maiden, and then, with just five balls left to bowl in her stellar international career, she got Cross to play across a full, straight one. This was Goswami’s 10,001st ODI delivery, and her teammates cheered for her in a way that made many of us cry. But what would have been the last wicket to fall and a fairytale ending got away from her.
Deepti – The show stealer
At a point, England still needed 52 runs in 13.5 overs and had only lost one wicket. Then Dean and Freya Davies batted well for 35 runs, making the game more exciting. So it was a bit surprising that the ending would become one of the most critical parts of the story. Dean’s being kicked out of the game was legal, but it meant that the game ended with a lot of boos and cheers.
Dean was so upset that she threw her bat to the ground and cried. After she stopped crying, she gathered herself and went to the Indians to shake their hands. Moments later, Goswami was wheeled to the edge of the field with honor while carrying the Indian flag and surrounded by her teammates. It was a sweet moment of celebration that couldn’t quite hide a slightly bitter undertone.