India slammed for 'lying' in fresh twist to 'shameful' cricket drama

England women's cricket captain Heather Knight has accused India's players of "lying" about a controversial incident that has sparked debate around the world.

The England side was left shattered over the weekend after losing its third one-day international to India in highly contentious circumstances.

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India sealed a 3-0 series whitewash after winning the third ODI at Lord's after England batter Charlie Dean found herself at the centre of an ugly 'Mankad' controversy.

England were eyeing a remarkable win in the third one-day international, needing 17 runs off the final 39 balls with just one wicket in hand.

However, Dean was left distraught when she was deceived into thinking Sharma was about to bowl, with the Indian spinner instead stopping and whipping off the bails at the non-striker's end.

Dean was in tears after being run out by Sharma, whose Mankad dismissal has been debated across the cricket world, with many labelling it "shameful" and disgraceful" from India.

The Mankad is named after Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad - the first player to use the controversial method of dismissal in a Test match against Australia in 1948.

Just last week the ICC moved to legitimise the dismissal, taking it out of a section under 'unfair play' in its official rule book and into the section about run-outs.

However, the change won't come into affect until next month's T20 World Cup, and the cricket world is still clearly uneasy about its place in the game.

To Dean and England's credit, they still shook hands and congratulated India on the win, knowing that while frowned upon, the Mankad is a legitimate form of dismissal.

However, after arriving back in India, Sharma has inadvertently kicked of another storm after claiming that Dean and the England players were warned about it beforehand.

“That was our plan because she (Dean) was repeatedly doing it (walking off the crease) and we had warned them too,” she told reporters.

“We had also informed the umpires. But still she was right there so there wasn’t much we could do. We did everything according to the rules and guidelines.”

Indian cricketers and pundits also backed Sharma in the wake of global outrage, with Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur adding: “I don’t think it was any crime.”

England captain accuses India of 'lying'

England skipper Knight - who missed the game with a hip injury - has lit the fuse on the incident by accusing India of "lying" about their warnings to the England team in a scathing post on social media.

“The game is over, Charlie (Dean) was dismissed legitimately. India were deserved winners of the match and the series,” Knight wrote on Twitter.

“But no warnings were given. They don’t need to be given, so it hasn’t made the dismissal any less legitimate...

“But if they’re comfortable with the decision to affect the run out, India shouldn’t feel the need to justify it by lying about warnings.”

The sight of a clearly shocked Dean in tears suggested that she may not have been warned before the questionable end to the match.

Dean has already shown that she's moved on from the ugly saga with a hilarious act in a game at Lord's less than 24 hours after the India heartbreak.

Playing in a game for the South Vipers in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Lord's on Sunday, Dean was already in joking mood about the 'Mankad' controversy.

In just her second delivery of the day, Dean had her own chance to dismiss a batter with a 'Mankad', only to laugh and turn around to start her run-up again.

The spinner couldn't help but have a laugh as she gestured towards the batter at the non-striker's end, before walking back to her mark.

Fans flocked to social media to praise Dean for the hilarious incident.

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