India Women’s Secretary Jay Shah of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) congratulated Harmanpreet Kaur’s team after their historic 347-run victory over England Women. Shah referred to the victory as “epic” on his official X (formerly Twitter) account. He went on to say that there was teamwork evident in the performance.
The ‘Women in Blue’ were also wished well for their forthcoming fixtures by the BCCI secretary.
“Happy Birthday, #TeamIndia!” What a thrilling victory over England in the Test match! a genuine team effort demonstration in performance. It’s encouraging to see the team succeed because I remember having discussions about the importance of the truest format for a cricket player with @ImHarmanpreet and @mandhana_smriti. Shah commented on X, “More power to the Women in Blue.”
Recalling the game, India chose to bat first after winning the toss. On the first day of play, the batters made valuable contributions that enabled the team to score 428 runs in the first inning. Even though none of the Indian hitters could score a century in their opening over, they were part of several century partnerships that ultimately assisted them in winning a historic match.
In their lone innings, India’s standout batsmen were Shubha Satheesh (69 runs from 76 balls), Jemimah Rodrigues (68 runs from 99 balls), Yastika Bhatia (66 runs from 88 balls), and Deepti Sharma (67 runs from 113 balls). England’s best bowlers were Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell, who each took three wickets.
The Indian bowlers displayed some discipline and skill, making the Englishwomen look uncomfortable in their opening inning. With five wickets to his name, Deepti Sharma spearheaded the Indian attack and gave the home team a commanding 292-run lead.
During England’s opening inning, Nat Sciver-Brunt (59 runs from 70 balls) was the only player to stand out. Against constant pressure from the Indian bowlers, nobody else could make an impact.
In addition to Deepti, who stole the show with a five-for, Sneh Rana claimed two wickets. Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar, the opening bowlers, each took one wicket.
On Day 2, India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur had the option of enforcing the follow-on but instead decided to add a few useful runs before the second inning began. In the end, the hosts gave the visitors a daunting 479 points to win.
Harmanpreet Kaur (44 runs from 67 balls) and Rodrigues (27 runs from 29 balls) scored some significant runs in India’s second inning to help the team set a lofty goal for the visiting team. Charlie Dean, who bowled 19 overs and claimed four wickets, won the second inning. Acclestone claimed a pair of wickets. Despite pacer Pooja Vastrakar taking three wickets in the first innings, England was unable to improve upon their performance.
Once again, Deepti delivered, taking four wickets to aid the home team in reducing the visiting team to 131 in 27.3 overs. No batter could play a good inning in England’s second inning. Out of all the batters, Heather Knight, the skipper, scored the most runs (20 balls to 21 runs). In addition to Deepti and Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad claimed two wickets for the home team. Deepti’s outstanding all-around performance earned her the title of “Player of the Match.” In the game, she amassed 87 runs and claimed nine wickets.
