One-Off Women's Test Against England: Indians Create History
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2023-12-15 08:25:16
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
The Indian women's cricket team created history on Thursday on the first day of the one-off Test against England at the D Y Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Batting first after winning the toss, they amassed 410 for seven, becoming only the second team in history, that too after 88 years, to score 400-plus in a single day in a Test match. That it was a team effort was clear from the fact that there were no centuries (which means that a single batter did not dominate). Instead, there were four fifties while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was unlucky to miss one as she was run out in a bizarre manner when on 49.
Debutant Satheesh Shuba hit a polished and brisk 69 while Jemima Rodrigues hit 68. They stitched a third wicket partnership of 115 runs to pull India out of the woods after Smriti Mandhana and Shefali Verma fell cheaply. Then, Harmanpreet Kaur, Yashika Bhatia (66), Deepti Sharma (67) and Sneha Rana (30) kept up the tempo and frustrated the English bowlers. India achieved the score in 94 overs at a run rate of 4.36 and showed the depth in their batting. While the English bowlers were not impressive, Lauren Bell and Sophie Ecclestone were rewarded well for their efforts.
Once again, Harmanpreet Kaur got run out as, her bat apparently got stuck in the ground while going for a run. This is the second time this has happened with her this year. Readers will remember that she was run out in a similar manner in the Women's T20 World Cup semifinal. At that time she was criticized for being lax. On Thursday, almost the same thing happened. There is something with Harmanpreet's bat or the manner in which she carries it. It is for her or the coaches and the team management to sort this out fast as it adversely affects the team.
PS: Even as this is being written, the Indian bowlers have bowled England out for just 136 in their first innings, with Deepti Sharma being the chief destroyer taking 5 wickets for just 7 runs.
