At the one-off Test match between India and England on Thursday at the DY Patil Sports Academy, captain of the Indian women’s team Harmanpreet Kaur chose to bat first after winning the toss. India is playing their first home Test after nine long years, while England is playing its first Test since 2014. Both teams will be vying for victory in the four-day match. Before the match, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Shubha Satheesh were given their Test debut caps, so a few new faces are in the Indian playing XI. England captain Heather Knight stated before the game that she wanted to snap their losing streak before leaving for home.
“I want to win a Test match badly. As an England side, it seems like a long time has passed since we accomplished that. If we manage to win the Test, it will be an incredible conclusion. The T20 series victory was extremely satisfying. We seem to be in a really good place going into the T20 World Cup. It allowed our children to spend some time in environments they wouldn’t normally be accustomed to. It’s difficult to play cricket outside in this heat and humidity. We will need to perform exceptionally well. “It will be fulfilling to have a successful four days, culminate in a victory, and then return home for the holidays,” Heather stated during the pre-game press conference the night before the game.
Conversely, Harmanpreet continued discussing the approach the team would take during a four-day Test, but he did not reveal the combination they could choose. “The game lasts four days. Therefore, you must consider who can bowl for two days and which batters can bat for extended periods of time, even if you have to bowl for two days,” India captain Harmanpreet stated. “The combination we choose will differ if we consider the pitch, but it will also differ if we consider our strengths. “I think we should play to our strengths,” she continued.
India Women (Playing XI): Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Thakur Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (w), The England Women’s playing eleven are: Sophie Ecclestone, Charlotte Dean, Kate Cross, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell; Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Heather Knight (c), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danielle Wyatt, Amy Jones (w).
