The Indian batting in the first innings pretty much summed up their UK tour as a whole. Formats have changed, tournaments have changed, but the batting display remained the same. Plenty of potential, promising starts, but in the end, nobody converted them into a substantial score. Day 1 of the historic first-ever women’s Test at Lord’s ended with England at 21/1, trailing by 264 after India, having elected to bat first, were bowled out for 285.
It was a milestone match for women’s cricket and a milestone for Smriti Mandhana as well. Playing her 300th international match, Mandhana finally shook off her poor record in landmark matches, scoring 83. She took her time to settle but looked absolutely elegant once she got going, while Sophie Ecclestone appeared completely out of sorts bowling to the veteran Indian opener.
India’s innings did not begin well as Shafali Verma fell in the second over, beaten by Lauren Filer’s pace and edging behind to Amy Jones, who completed a fine catch. Yastika Bhatia, as has often been the case, looked comfortable before Lauren Bell produced a fine delivery to send her back to the dressing room. The partnership between Jemimah Rodrigues and Mandhana entertained the Lord’s crowd. It was not a massive attendance, but those present made themselves heard, applauding good cricket regardless of which team produced it. Against the run of play, however, Jemimah played a delivery well outside off stump, one she had no business chasing in a four-day Test, throwing her wicket away. The last six months have been about preparing for the Women’s T20 World Cup and that mindset appeared to creep into India’s batting.
Following Jemimah’s dismissal, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Mandhana steadied the innings, taking India to 122/3 at lunch and seemingly on course for a sizeable first-innings total.
After lunch, Mandhana seemed to have lost her fluency, while Harmanpreet looked set for a big score. Mandhana repeated Jemimah’s mistake by chasing a wide delivery and fell 17 runs short of what would have been her third Test century. Once the 89-run partnership between Mandhana and Harmanpreet ended, India failed to put together another stand worth 50 runs, and with it, their hopes of posting a commanding first-innings total faded.
After Mandhana’s dismissal, Harmanpreet appeared troubled by a hamstring issue. She reached her half-century but, yet again, could not convert it into a match-defining innings. The delivery from Mady Villiers that dismissed Harmanpreet was a dream for any off-spinner, leaving the India captain with very little chance.
While Nat Sciver-Brunt made a few questionable bowling changes, including introducing Villiers rather late, England’s bowlers continued to chip away at the wickets. Deepti Sharma became the third Indian batter to register a half-century in the innings, but with little support from the other end, she too fell while trying to accelerate.
At lunch, India looked set to post between 300 and 350. Even after lunch, crossing 300 appeared inevitable. Instead, Sophie Ecclestone polished off the tail as India were dismissed for 285.
England came out to bat in the final session, arguably the best time for batting, with the sun beating down on the surface and barely a breeze in the air. Yastika Bhatia kept wicket while Richa Ghosh fielded at backward short leg. Sayali Satghare and Kranti Gaud attempted to induce the same mistakes India had made by bowling outside off stump and tempting England’s batters into expansive strokes. The English batters, however, were content to leave those deliveries.
Another noticeable difference between the two teams was their strike rotation. England did not chase the wide deliveries and, whenever the opportunity arose, they tapped the ball into gaps and rotated the strike, ensuring pressure never built up. Kranti found success whenever she bowled a good length at the stumps. She removed Tammy Beaumont and also trapped Heather Knight, only for umpire Sue Redfern to turn down the appeal. India opted against reviewing the decision, even though it looked out to the naked eye, with Hawk-Eye later confirming the decision would have been overturned.
Maia Bouchier looked considerably more assured at the crease than Knight as England closed the opening day on 21/1. The first day of the inaugural women’s Test at Lord’s produced 11 wickets, with the seamers claiming six and the spinners five.
India will hope to make the most of the first hour on Day 2 with Sayali and Kranti attacking the stumps. There was also enough turn on offer for the spin trio of Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma and Sree Charani to put England under pressure. England, meanwhile, will aim to bat deep into Day 2 and put themselves in a position to take control of the Test.
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The post ENG vs IND, Lord’s Test: India rue missed opportunities despite Mandhana’s 83 as England finish Day 1 on 21/1 appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.
