Debutants Jemimah Rodrigues and Shubha Satheesh shine with half-centuries as India surpasses the 400-run mark to take the honors on Day 1.
The last time the Indian women’s cricket team played a Test match was against Australia in Australia in September 2021. It was also Women in Blue’s first-ever pink ball Test match. The Indian team displayed an impressive performance in the batting department as they declared after posting a massive total of 377/8 in the first innings after being inserted to bat first by the Australian skipper Meg Lanning. The match eventually ended in a draw with Australia at 36/2 in 15 innings in the fourth innings, chasing a target of 272 runs.
The last time these two sides came up against each other in the red-ball format was in June 2021. It eventually turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller courtesy of an inspirational display of resilience and persistence from the all-rounder Sneh Rana and the wicket-keeper batter Taniya Bhatia. The duo stitched a crucial 104-run partnership for the 9th wicket to save the Test match. The Indian Women’s team last played a Test match at home in November 2014 against South Africa which India won by an innings and 34 runs.
The one-off Test match against England at the DY Patil stadium will be women in blue’s first Test match at home after 9 years, having last played in 2014. The Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first in the one-off Test against England. Three players from the Indian camp, the white-ball veteran Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, and Shubha Satheesh were given their debut caps.
The opening batters Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma got off to a brisk start scoring 5 runs an over before the left-hand opening batter Smriti Mandhana chopped on a good length delivery off the inside edge back onto her stumps. Lauren Bell provided the first breakthrough for England. The 24-year-old batter from Karnataka Shubha Satheesh joined Shafali Verma at the crease and the duo stitched a 22-run partnership for the second wicket before a wobble seam delivery breached the defense of Shafali Verma as she missed the line of the ball completely and ended up losing her off-stump. Kate Cross provided the second breakthrough for England.
House of Half-Centurions!
Four players, four fifties. Dominance redefined 🔥#CricketTwitter #INDvENG | 📸: BCCI pic.twitter.com/qUqgeUQbWc
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 14, 2023
Jemimah Rodrigues joined Shubha Satheesh at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 115-run partnership for the third wicket. The 24-year-old debutant completed her maiden half-century through the course of the partnership. She departed for a well-made 69 off 76 balls, scoring at a strike rate of 90.78. Her tally of runs included 13 boundaries. The left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone provided the third breakthrough for England courtesy of a stunning catch from Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease and the duo stitched a 28-run partnership for the fourth wicket before a length ball from outside off-stump left Jemimah Rodrigues in two minds and as a result, she failed to get bat on it and the ball went onto disturb the timber. Lauren Bell provided the fourth breakthrough for England. Jemimah Rodrigues, the debutant much like Shubha Satheesh completed her maiden half-century and she eventually departed for a well-made 68 off 99 balls.
Wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 116-run partnership for the 5th wicket before skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s confident stay at the crease ended courtesy of an unfortunate run-out, she was found short of her crease as her bat got stuck at the crease. She departed for a well-made 49. Deepti Sharma joined wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia at the crease and the duo failed to switch gears and build on a solid platform laid by the top order, as they lost the wicket of Yastika Bhatia, who in her bid to switch gears, ended up mistiming her lifted shot and Lauren Bell manages to hold on to the catch this time around. Charlie Dean provided the 6th breakthrough for England.
Day 1 – Stumps | 🇮🇳India: 410/7
Shubha Satheesh – 69 (76)
Jemimah Rodrigues – 68 (99)
Yastika Bhatia – 66 (88)
Deepti Sharma – 60* (95)
Harmanpreet Kaur – 49 (81)#CricketTwitter #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/QlD4tob8QU— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 14, 2023
Sneh Rana joined Deepti Sharma at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 92-run partnership for the 7th wicket before Nat Sciver-Brunt came back and cleaned up Sneh Rana as she missed her flick across the line and the ball ricocheted off her pads ended up losing her leg stump. India eventually ended up with a total of 410/7 in 94 overs, India’s highest-ever total on home soil, surpassing their previous best (400/6) against South Africa in 2014.
Records galore on Day 1 of the one-off Test match against England (14th December 2023).
It is also the second-highest by any team in India in women’s Tests, the highest being 431/4 by England against New Zealand in 1935.
It is also the second-highest team total (410/7) in a single day’s play in a Women’s Test match.
The 24-year debutant from Karnataka Shubha Satheesh smashed the second-fastest recorded fifty for India in a women’s Test, the fastest being the 40-ball effort by Sangita Dabir that came against England in 1995.
The 115-run stand for the third wicket is the highest stand between two debutants for India, the previous highest being the unbeaten 104-run stand between Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia on their last tour to England in 2021.
