Navi Mumbai: Debutants Shubha Satheesh (69) and Jemimah Rodrigues (68) made fine half-centuries as India's ultra-aggressive approach with the bat took them to a massive 410 for 7 at stumps on Day 1 of their one-off women's Test against England here on Thursday.
Playing their first Test in nearly two years, and their maiden red-ball game on home soil in nine years, India rarely took the foot off the pedal on a batting-friendly surface at the DY Patil Stadium, garnering nearly five runs per over.
The 24-year-old Shubha stood tall with a 76-ball 69 studded with 13 boundaries, displaying immaculate footwork and impeccable reading of the line and length to score her runs at a strike rate of nearly 91. Shubha became the 12th India batter to score a fifty on debut, but she could not convert it into a century, which would have made her the first from the country to make a ton in her maiden appearance. She departed when Sophie Ecclestone (1/85) had her caught by Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Jemimah too produced a knock befitting her calibre, smacking 11 fours during her 99-ball stay. The young batter looked good for a three-figure score but played one on to her wickets off Lauren Bell (2/64). Shubha and Jemimah were instrumental in setting the tone for the hosts' domination after the team appeared to be stuttering following a brisk start, adding 115 runs for the third wicket to enter the record books.
The partnership between the duo is now the second-highest in Test cricket for the third wicket. It was a day when the Indians were within sniffing distance of resetting several records but fell short. India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur began with a sweep shot and looked in rich vein of form, but her bat got stuck in the ground while completing a run and Dani Wyatt's throw ended her stay.
Harmanpreet walked back to the dressing room having scored an 81-ball 49 with six fours, but more importantly, she and Yastika Bhatia (66) put on 116 runs for the fifth wicket, which is the second-highest stand for India in the format. Yastika was brisk in getting runs, though at no stage did she appear to be taking risks. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batter was fluent on both sides of the wicket, cracking 10 fours and the only six of the innings.
Lauren dropped a regulation catch at mid-on off Charlie Dean (1/62) when Yastika, on 15, mistimed a sweep and the ball went high up in the air. Yastika too had to contend with a maiden half-century in her second Test outing as Lauren did not err while taking a catch for the second time at the same spot, off the same bowler.
India were far from done as Deepti Sharma (60) and Sneh Rana (30) joined forces to pile more misery on England on a hot and humid day, adding 92 runs for the seventh wicket, which took the hosts past the 400-run mark. For England, who bowled 94 out of a possible 100 overs, opportunities were few and far between. Luck also did not favour them, with a few edges flying past their fielders while both the DRS calls too went waste.
Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma made confident starts but perished inside the first 10 overs after putting on 25 runs. Mandhana (17 off 12 balls, 3x4s) punished the fuller deliveries as India were quick off the blocks, but Lauren's ploy to pull back her length resulted in the Indian opener chopping one on to her leg stump.
Lauren got the ball to nip back into the left-handed Mandhana, who was cramped for room as the ball bounced just enough to take an inside edge. Shafali remained rooted to the leg stump, which meant the early movement from Kate Cross (1/64) troubled her around the off-stump. Having being beaten a few times, Shafali (19 off 30 balls, 4x4s) could do little when a Kate Cross delivery nipped away off the surface to send the Indian batter's off-stump cart-wheeling.
