Deepti, Charani keep England to 288 after Knight 109

Innings England 288 for 8 (Knight 109, Jones 56, Deepti 4-51) vs India

Heather Knight was touch-and-go to make the World Cup squad due to injury. Three weeks on, she may have produced two of the tournament's most defining knocks yet.

If her unbeaten 79 in Guwahati helped England overcome Bangladesh's spin strangle, Sunday's innings was a masterclass in sweeps and reverse sweeps. Her 109 - a third ODI century - came on a grander stage: against hosts India in front of a festive, Diwali crowd, with a semi-final berth at stake.

Knight's enterprising knock left India having to pull off their highest successful chase in women's ODIs after back-to-back losses to South Africa and Australia. And they'll have to do so a batter short after leaving out Jemimah Rodrigues for seamer Renuka Singh.

Knight's damage could have been far worse had she not been run out in the 45th over, willing herself to pinch a second, only to be beaten by Amanjot Kaur's rocket throw on the bounce to Richa Ghosh from the deep square leg. After her dismissal, India tightened the screws, conceding just 36 off the last five overs -- a period that brought England just three boundaries as they kept losing wickets while attempting big hits.

This ensured India had to chase 289 and not 320, which looked certain when Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt seamlessly accelerated through the middle overs during their 113-run stand. Knight's was a busy innings -- she was focused on strike rotation early on; she shifted gears only after her stand with Sciver-Brunt had crossed 50.

Knight began the onslaught in the 32nd over when she took down left-arm spinner N Shree Charani for back-to-back fours. A slog sweep, where she moved to the off side to get outside the line, was followed by a cut when Charani overcompensated. In the next over, Knight brought up her half-century, off 54 balls, with a delicate reverse paddle against Sneh Rana.

While the sweep was Knight's calling card, to say her knock was just about the sweeps wouldn't do justice to her running between the wickets. She also displayed her brute bottom-hand power in shovelling Kranti Gaud for a six -- the only one of the innings -- in the 38th over.

Knight enjoyed a slice of luck on 91 when Deepti Sharma put down a sharp chance at short fine leg off Renuka in the 43rd over. On 97, she had another reprieve when a leading edge attempting to work Shree Charani into the leg side wasn't pouched by Richa Ghosh behind the stumps. The ball ran away for four, bringing up Knight's century off 86 balls.

Knight soon ran out of gas in trying to pinch a second, leading to a lower-order collapse that denied England the finish they may have been after.

England owed their innings to a steady accumulation phase early on, with Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones putting on 73 in 16 overs. India seemed a tad frazzled early on in some of their decision-making and missed a review that would have had Beaumont lbw on 19.

Fortunately for India, it didn't cost them a lot as Beaumont fell in the next over when she was bowled by Deepti, who brought up her 150th ODI wicket. Deepti bowled with great guile and control, which forced batters to tread a degree of caution against her. This brought her a second wicket when Jones, soon after getting to her half-century, chipped one to Smriti Mandhana at short mid-on.

This is when Knight and Sciver-Brunt took charge and kept India on the edge until the end overs. But a series of wickets at the death, and dew to boot, may have just given the hosts a lifeline.