It did not take the Indian women’s cricket team long to shake off the dust from their Test whites as four batters, including the debutants Shubha Satheesh (69) and Jemimah Rodrigues (68) struck half centuries to propel the hosts to a record 410 for 7 at stumps on Day 1 of the one-off Test match against England at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.
Star all-rounder Deepti Sharma (60 not out) and wicketkeeper Yasthika Bhatia (66) also came up with fifty-plus scores even as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur fell one shy of a half century to put India on the driver’s seat at the end of the first day’s play. This was India’s first red-ball game ever since the last Test match against Australia, two years ago.
With that score, India became only the second team to record 400-plus runs in a day in a women’s Test innings, and the first instance of a team piling more than 400 runs in a single day in women’s Tests in 88 years. England women hold the overall record, having racked up a staggering 431 for two against New Zealand at Lancaster Park, Christchurch in 1935.
India’s feat also marked only the third instance of 400-plus runs by both sides in a day and the highest aggregate in a day in India, surpassing the previous best of 379 by Australia Women (329-8) and India (50-0) in 1984.
Having opted to bat on a placid batting turf, Shubha and Jemimah helped India recover from the early loss of the openers – Smriti Mandhana (17) and Shafali Verma (19) that saw the team struggling at 47 for 2 inside the first 10 overs. The duo of Shubha and Jemimah added 115 runs in the third wicket partnership that witnessed a range of counterattacking shots, helping the team set the tone before the former departed.
Meanwhile, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur registered her highest Test score but fell short of a maiden fifty with a freakish run-out dismissal. Kaur’s 81-ball effort was also instrumental in raising a 116-run fifth wicket partnership with wicketkeeper Yastika, who in the process, notched up her maiden fifty with an 88-ball 66 comprising 10 fours and one six.
Lower-order batters Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana also raised a fifty-plus stand for the seventh wicket to help India past the 400-run mark. Deepti became the fourth half-centurion of the innings, crossing the mark in 78 balls. Deepti and Rana then led India past 400 in 89.1 overs.
India also bettered its highest total at home, going past the previous best of 400/6 decl. against South Africa in its last home Test in 2014. At stumps, Deepti and Pooja Vastrakar (4 not out) walked back undefeated as India batted for 94 overs.
England, looking for their first Test match victory since 2014, were good in patches but failed to put in a consistent show with the ball. Lauren Bell was the pick of the bowling side, claiming two wickets, while Kate Cross, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone chipped in with a wicket apiece.