England Women resumed the day on 269/6 and went on to 127 runs before declaring in the second session. India Women started splendidly as Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana smashed half-centuries and also put on a record 167-run opening stand. However, England struck back with five wickets in the final hour of the day to gain total control of the game.
It was a day where the bat dominated the ball but once again. This second day was very similar to the first. A major chunk of day two saw just three wickets, and the batters were making the most of the good batting conditions. However, like the first day, the last hour saw a flurry of wickets.
All the hard work done by the Indian openers went down the drain as England picked up five wickets in the last hour of the day to gain total control of this Test match. The visitors went from 167/0 to 183/5 in the space of 10 overs.
The day started off on a bright note for the Indian team. Jhulan Goswami nipped out Katherine Brunt as the veteran Indian pacer had her counterpart LBW. However, that was the only success that India could get early on in the day.
Sophia Dunkley became the first black woman to play Test cricket for England batted beautifully. She had Sophie Ecclestone for company, who was stoic at the other end. The duo added 56 runs for the eighth wicket as England wrestled back the initiative that India gained early on in the day.
Deepti Sharma had dropped an easy return catch with Dunkley on 27, and England’s score at that stage was 295/7. The 22-year-old made India pay as she went on to score a half-century on debut. Deepti got rid of Ecclestone a few overs before lunch, and it seemed like India could close out the innings quickly.
However, Anya Shrubsole’s arrival only added to their woes. The 29-year-old pacer upped the ante while Dunkley also picked up the pace. The duo added 31 runs in 7.3 overs before lunch. And once they returned, Shrubsole took the attack to the Indian bowlers. England just batted 3.2 overs after lunch and added 39 runs. 31 of those were scored by Shrubsole. She was dismissed on 47 off 33 balls and missed out on the record for the fastest half-century in the history of women’s Test cricket. England declared on 396/9.
England’s new-ball bowlers Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole were right on the money and gave very little away as Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma got off to a watchful start. The first seven overs yielded just 11 runs. There were a few close shaves, but the Mandhana-Verma pair saw off the opening spells.
Once they saw off the initial phase, Verma started to show her range of shots and picked up some pace. She found the boundaries frequently while Mandhana was happy to bide her time at the crease and play second fiddle. The duo notched up a fifty-run stand in the 18th over, and soon after, Mandhana received life as Kate Cross shelled a sharp return chance. India went through to Tea 63/0 with both openers looking solid.
Both batters upped the ante in the final session, and the session kicked off with a flurry of boundaries. Verma scored a couple off Brunt before Mandhana hit three fours off Ecclestone. Both batters notched up their respective half-centuries and were looking very good. Mandhana got another life as Amy Jones put down a catch off Brunt while standing up to the stumps.
Mandhana continued to live a charmed life at the crease as Dunkley shelled one at cover when the left-hander was on 51. At the other end, there were a few miscues and edges that went past fielders for Verma, but she continued on her merry way. The runs were flowing freely, and it looked like India could well end the day in dominance.
However, all hell broke loose in the final hour of play. Verma tried to go for the big shot and reach her hundred in style but ended up miscuing one to mid-off, where Shrubsole took a good catch running in. Kate Cross got the much-needed breakthrough as Verma fell four runs short of what would’ve been a magnificent ton on debut (and she would’ve been the youngest player to score a ton on Test debut).
That breakthrough opened the door for England, and they drove home the advantage. Punam Raut walked in and blunted everything. She took 24 deliveries to get off the mark, and with the runs drying up from her end, Mandhana tried to push on and perished. The left-handed opener looks to heave one over the leg-side and only managed to sky one to mid-off. Nat Sciver was the one who got the wicket.
Heather Knight brought herself on and got two wickets. She had the night-watchwomen caught and bowled. Ecclestone then had the big fish Mithali Raj caught at short-leg before Raut shouldered arms to a straight ball from Knight. Harmanpreet Kaur was given out LBW in the final over the day, but she got an inside edge and overturned the call.
India finished the day on 187/5 with Kaur on 4 and Deepti batting on 0. From a comfortable position, India completely lost the plot in the last hour of the day to slip to 187/5.
Brief Scores
India 187/5 (Verma 96, Mandhana 78, Knight 2/1, Sciver 1/21) trail England 396/9 decl (Knight 95, Beaumont 66, Dunkley 74*, Shrubsole 47, Rana 4/131, Deepti 3/65) by 209 runs
