For her innings of 62* (64) against England in Southampton, Deepti Sharma was named player of the match. This performance helped India chase down 262 and win by four wickets, which was enough to give them a 1-0 lead in the series and extend their victory in the T20I series. It was also India's second-highest successful chase in the history of the Women's One Day International.

In addition to one six in his innings, Deepit also executed a well-timed one-handed swipe against Lauren Bell, sending the ball a mile over midwicket. The Indian all-rounder paid tribute to another great left-handed Indian batter of the modern day—one who has become synonymous with similar one-handed big shots—as he pondered the amazing shot that cleared the Rose Bowl boundary by a considerable margin.

“I practice these shots, I learned that shot from Rishabh Pant. I like that shot,” Sharma said in her post-match press conference, alluding to how Pant has utilized single-handed sixes during the course of his career to get leverage and improve his swing extension.

With a flawless innings, Deepti leads India back home

Considering the character of the pitch and the size of the boundaries, the shot is made all the more amazing by the fact that it was the sole maximum of the inning from hitters on both teams. Given the circumstances, Deepti's innings was notable for being mostly controlled and patient, with just 18 runs coming off boundaries.

India still needed 135 runs with little batting remaining when she entered the room with the score at 124/4. Deepti maintained the ship in a 90-run stand with Jemimah Rodrigues before taking control and guiding the chase with the strong hitting of Amanjot Kaur. With 11 balls remaining in an exciting and close-fought ODI opener, Kaur's 20*(14) helped India cross the finish line.

Sophia Dunkley's excellent innings of 83 earlier in the game gave the England innings its spine, and Alice Davidson-Richards (53) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (41) provided strong support for her to set a tough total. Although England appeared to be in command by preventing any of India's batters from turning their starts, Sharma and Rodrigues were able to use their running between the wickets to dominate the field and chip away at the target as the balls began to soften up.

The second game of this three-game ODI series between India and England will take place at Lord's on Saturday, July 19.

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