On the strength of Mandhana-Harmanpreet and Deepti, India scored 285 runs, England’s top order faltered.

New Delhi. The first day of the only Test match between the women’s teams of India and England at the historic ground of Lord’s was very exciting. Thanks to the half-centuries of Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, India scored 285 runs in their first innings, in response to which, by the end of the day’s play, England had scored 21 runs in their first innings after losing 1 wicket. England is currently 264 runs behind India’s score. The Indian team, which came to bat first after winning the toss, had a very bad start. Opener Shefali Verma was caught by Amy Jones on the ball of Lauren Filer without opening the account. After this, Yastika Bhatia also became the victim of Lauren Bell after scoring only 12 runs.

In times of crisis, Smriti Mandhana took charge of one end and batted brilliantly. He played a brilliant inning of 83 runs in 108 balls with the help of 11 fours and 1 six. He got good support from Jemimah Rodrigues (35 runs). After Jemima’s dismissal, captain Harmanpreet Kaur took charge. Harmanpreet played a patient inning of 58 runs in 121 balls and put the team in a strong position.

Lower order contribution and England’s bowling
Deepti Sharma also scored an excellent half-century in the middle order. He scored 57 runs in 87 balls with the help of 7 fours. Richa Ghosh (13 runs) and Sneh Rana (13 runs) tried to hold on for some time, but the lower order of the Indian team could not fight for long. Sayali Satghare and Kranti Gaur were out after scoring 1 run each, while Shri Charani remained unbeaten on 3 runs. The entire Indian team was reduced to 285 runs in 74.5 overs. Spinner Sophie Ecclestone was the most successful bowler for England, taking 3 wickets for 68 runs. Apart from them, Lauren Filer, Isabel Wong and Maddy Villiers got 2 wickets each, while Lauren Bell took 1 wicket.

England’s cautious start, Kranti Gaur got the first wicket
England, who came to play their first innings in reply of 285 runs, did not have a good start either. Kranti Gaur gave India its first success by dismissing opener Tammy Beaumont LBW on a personal score of just 2 runs. After this, opener Maia Bushier and captain Heather Knight showed a very defensive game and did not allow England to suffer any further setbacks. Till the end of the day’s play, Maia Bushier remained at the crease after scoring 17 runs and Heather Knight scored 1 run.

On behalf of India, Kranti Gaur performed brilliantly in bowling, giving only 8 runs in 5 overs by bowling 2 maidens and taking 1 wicket. Sayali Satghare gave 13 runs in 5 overs, while Sneh Rana bowled 1 maiden over. On the second day of the match, England will be eyeing to get closer to India’s score by making a big partnership, while the Indian bowlers will want to put pressure on the host team by taking wickets as soon as possible in the morning session.