'Our spinners did brilliantly’ – Heather Knight

On a day when England's spinners picked up nine Indian wickets between them, Heather Knight, their captain, was all praise for the combination of Danielle Hazell, Sophie Ecclestone and Alex Hartley, who set up a series-levelling win in Nagpur.

India were bowled out for a paltry 113 in just 37.2 overs in the second women’s one-day international. Hazell, the off-spinner, drew first blood for England by snaring Devika Vaidya. She then went on to take two more wickets before Ecclestone, the left-arm spinner, joined the party.

The two chipped away with regular wickets, ending with four apiece, while there was a run out before Hartley wrapped up India's innings with the last wicket of Ekta Bisht.

“The pitch was quite slow and the conditions were spinning,” Knight pointed out. “I think our bowlers did well today. Danielle Hazell set the tone for the spinners.

“Sometimes when you get on a pitch like that, where the spinners are expected to turn the ball and take the wickets, you look up in search of a little bit too much and the pressure of trying to take the wickets can take you. I think our spinners did brilliantly.”

England's batters, led by Danielle Wyatt (47) and Tammy Beaumont (39*) then chased down the target in just 29 overs.

“We also batted brilliantly to finish a day like that, with Danielle Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont chasing down the total and finishing it off,” said Knight.

Ecclestone, who won the Player of the Match award for her brilliant returns of 4/14 – her career best – said she was reaping the benefits of keeping things simple.

“I’ve been sticking to my basics, keeping it simple, putting it on the spot and making the batter play as much as possible,” she said.

The left-arm spinner's list of victims included the prized scalp of Smriti Mandhana (42), but she picked another wicket as her favourite. “My fourth wicket (of Poonam Yadav),” said Ecclestone. “I knew we needed to try and get them out as soon as possible because we knew how hard it would be to get the runs. It was a great day all around.”