The spinner took out half-centurions Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma
Lunch India 171 for 3 (Verma 63, Sharma 54) and 231 (Verma 96, Mandhana 78, Ecclestone 4-88, Knight 2-7) lead England 396 for 9 dec. (Knight 95, Dunkley 74*, Beaumont 66, Rana 4-131, Sharma 3-65) by six runs
But five balls later, without adding to her score, Verma’s eyes lit up at an Ecclestone full-toss and she lifted it down the ground as Brunt, running to her left from long-on had to launch herself forwards in a dive to meet it and clung onto the catch. Leaping back to her feet, Brunt pivoted towards the stands with both fists clenched and roared with delight.
But with Verma gone, Sharma and Punam Raut dug in to guide India to 171 for 3, as Sharma fell on the last ball before lunch, with a lead of six runs.
Until Sharma fell, with England struggling to make inroads, the match looked headed for a draw that would belie the many fascinating storylines of the match. Ecclestone then struck for the second time in the morning session and, provided England could get back on a roll, the prospect of a result loomed back into sight.
Sharma, another debutant who had displayed her stubbornness in facing 44 deliveries for a single run earlier in her innings, reached a 157-ball fifty with a pull off Nat Sciver to deep backward square. But her resistance ended when she inexplicably attempted to slog-sweep a full Ecclestone delivery and bottom-edged onto her stumps, gone for 54 and leaving Raut unbeaten on 39 at the break.
Raut had an lbw decision overturned when she was on 17, replays showing that she had edged Brunt onto her pad.
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor at ESPNcricinfo