India women vs England women, one of the most awaited Test matches of the year, began yesterday at the Bristol County Ground and the first day was pretty action-packed. With England winning the toss and dominating the first two sessions with the bat and India making a strong comeback in the thirst session, the first day was surely as exciting as we had hoped for.
England skipper Heather Knight, who batted beautifully in the first two sessions and was on the verge of becoming the first women to score a century for England in a Test since she herself achieved the feat in 2013, was not able to make a mark in the history books after her former Western Storm teammate Deepti Sharma managed to take her wicket in the 78th over when Knight was 5 runs short of the ton.
Let’s take a moment and appreciate this special knock by Skipper Heather Knight.#ENGvIND #ENGWvINDW @Heatherknight55 pic.twitter.com/3qDujie5OG
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) June 16, 2021
Knight arrived at the crease shortly before lunch and started dominating the game from the 1st ball. With beautiful shots like the cover drive, she sailed smoothly and with great merit in the first two sessions. Knight chanced her arm with DRS in the second session, which is in use for the first time in women’s Test cricket, but luckily the decision came in her favor.
The Skipper’s dismissal came in a rather difficult session for the English women. India starting dominating the day’s game in the third session. England went from 230 for two to 251 for six, courtesy of the Spin Twins, Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana.
Though Katherine Brunt (7*) and the debutant Sophia Dunkley (12*) are still on the crease fighting to keep the team spirits up after the horrific thirst session, India will have the momentum going into day two.
Knight missed out on a century but England had an achievement of their own. For the first time since 1960, they claimed half-century stands for each of their first three wickets.
Which debutants performance did you enjoy the most? 😀#ENGvIND #ENGWvINDW 📸 BCCI pic.twitter.com/avK5SzLEUo
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) June 17, 2021
Lauren Winfield-Hill, who was seen opening for England’s Test side once again after 2017, looked strong and hit a six-over mid-wicket on Shikha Pandey’s ball – the first time any England player has hit a six in a women’s Test since 2006.
Lauren Winfield-Hill – Remember the name 😍pic.twitter.com/BHqRq8b79J
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) June 16, 2021
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