England have the guts to beat India and clinch a place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Cricket World Cup

England won a last-over thriller against India in Indore on Sunday to seal their place in the World Cup semi-finals, making two crucial catches at the death to defend 288 and win by just four runs. Earlier, Heather Knight’s third ODI century in her 300th international set up the thrilling finale.

India still needed 27 off 18 but Linsey Smith defied England’s recent reputation for falling to pieces under pressure and conceded just four runs from the 48th over and then defended 14 off the last to ensure England came out on top.

Smith had earlier taken the crucial wicket of Smriti Mandhana, whose 88 off 94 balls looked to be taking India to an easy victory until the Indian vice-captain, hobbling from cramp caused by the sweltering humidity, sent a catch into the hands of long-off with 55 runs still needed.

Still, with six wickets in hand, the match was one India would lose, and their all-rounder Deepti Sharma hit just enough boundaries to keep them in touch, bringing up her half-century in the 46th. But Richa Ghosh holed out to Knight to cover the next ball, before Deepti himself found himself in the hands of Sophia Dunkley at deep midwicket in the next over, leaving too much for Amanjot Kaur and Sneh Rana.

Tournament hosts India now battle New Zealand for fourth place in the semi-finals and will need to beat the White Ferns on Thursday – plus avoid defeat in their final match against Bangladesh – to ensure qualification.

“I can’t quite comprehend what has just happened,” Smith told Sky Sports. “The fight we showed at the end was great. For me it was an attempt not to make it too complicated. I practiced that death plan all week and tried to push a tight line into their heels.”

With both teams still pushing for a place in the semi-finals, this was the highest-profile match of the tournament so far, and the large Indore crowd were treated to a nail-biter – although not the result they had hoped for.

Knight’s Century enabled England to post 288 after electing to bat first. “I was desperate to make a statement performance at a big-cap event and I’m really glad I did that,” Knight told Sky Sports.

It was a formidable total for which India would have had to set a record run, but nevertheless there was a feeling that England had been under-par on a very good batting track. Knight’s run-out in the 45th over, with Amanjot Kaur’s arm mistakenly caught at deep square leg, proved to be the catalyst for a brand collapse: England lost five wickets for 31 runs and what should have been a total of more than 300 crashed and burned. Head coach Charlotte Edwards, who had opted to stay true to her established line-up despite unconvincing games against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, might well have raised an eyebrow in the dugout.

Deepti finished with a return of four for 51, beating both Alice Capsey and Emma Lamb at the death in successive overs. Capsey’s dismissal was a clever piece of cricket for a poor piece of decision-making: Deepti saw the batsman’s premeditated reverse, adjusted her line and confused her enough that the ball ended up in the hands of cover.

Earlier, India’s swing queen Renuka Singh Thakur – brought back into the XI for this match due to England’s recent struggles against new ball movement – had been unlucky to finish wicketless after a five-over opener. Instead, it was Deepti who broke England’s 73-run opening partnership in her first over of the day, bowling Tammy Beaumont around her legs. However, the English tormentor with the ball couldn’t quite finish the job with the bat.

“I’m so, so happy,” a relieved Nat Sciver-Brunt told Sky Sports. “We weren’t really tested with the ball towards the end of our innings. Everyone showed how calm they were and were very clear in what they wanted to do.”

Meanwhile, her counterpart, Harmanpreet Kaur, will be under as much pressure as ever despite her own run-a-ball 70 in Indore. India once again failed to use the DRS system effectively: twice in the England innings they reviewed on-field decisions which replays showed drifted down, bringing the number of failed reviews to eight. It may not have cost them the match against England, but if the trend continues it could still cost them a place in the semi-finals.