In the one-off test between Indian Women and England Women – the Indian Women’s team had a spectacular fight back on the final day of the test match and it has resulted in a draw.
There were few moments where India had lost it – But after the middle-order batting collapse, the young debutants Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia had an excellent 104 run partnership for the 9th wicket and secured a memorable draw for their home side.
In a virtual post match conference, Indian women skipper Mithali Raj said – “Psychologically I think it’s a big boost and will definitely put England on the back foot because they know that even though the main batters have not performed, the lower middle order stood up,”
“The Indian batting lineup is deep now and it’s not just the top-order. The lower middle-order also can bat and put in match-winning partnerships,” she said.
Even this test match has witnessed one more outstanding performance from the debutant Shefali Verma who smashed 93 in the first and 63 in the 2nd innings respectively. Even she had an excellent partnership with Smriti Mandhana in the first innings and played few handy knocks.
Team India will now play three ODIs and three T20Is against England.
Mithali also added – “I think that’s a great way to start a series where you know from a situation where we were literally looking at a Test match loss, and from there we’ve come to a draw, that clearly shows that the girls are not ready to give up and they are ready to fight”
“That’s something we’re trying to build in our team environment and that’s something we try and take it forward from here, so that the team grows from strength to strength, just not in one format, but each time we take the field,” she said.
Indian women team is also set to play their 1st ever pink ball day-night Test during their tour against Australia in September.
Talking about the Australian tour she said – “These girls have shown even with lack of practice with the red ball and the longer format, they stood up and performed. I think confidence is what we will be carrying into the next Tests. I know it’s a pink ball Test but preparation will be equally important.
“Having said that, the mental space that these young girls are in after today’s performance will have a very positive impact, moving into a longer format for the coming Pink Ball Test,” she concluded.
