'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
India Women drew their only Test match against England Women in the 2021 English summer. The home side won the toss and elected to bat first at Bristol's County Ground.
Half-centuries from Heather Knight, Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont guided England Women to 396/9 in their first innings. In reply, India Women's openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana stitched up an epic partnership of 167 runs for the first wicket.
However, India Women suffered a collapse after the first wicket fell. England Women bowled them out for just 231 runs and enforced a follow-on. It seemed like England Women would win the game after they reduced India Women to 199/7, but a superb batting performance from the lower middle-order ensured that the match ended in a stalemate.
There were some outstanding knocks from the Indian batswomen in the one-off Test against England Women. In this article, we rate (out of 10) their performances.
(Note: Specialist bowlers are not part of this list.)
How did India Women's batters fare in the one-off Test?
Shafali Verma - 9.5/10
Shafali Verma won the Player of the Match award on her Test debut. The 17-year-old created a new record for the most sixes by a batter (3) in women's Test cricket history.
Verma missed out on her maiden Test ton by just four runs in the first innings. She followed it up with a 83-ball 63 in the second innings. Shafali will look forward to continuing in the same vein in the upcoming games.
Smriti Mandhana - 8/10
Smriti Mandhana was part of the highest opening partnership in Indian women's Test cricket history during the first innings. She scored 78 runs from 155 balls and supported Shafali Verma brilliantly.
However, in the second innings, Smriti got out before touching double digits. She will try to up her game in the white-ball matches.
Punam Raut - 5/10
Unlike Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut looked to play a little more defensively. She managed only two runs off 31 balls in the first innings, but Raut scored 39 runs in the second innings.
The 31-year-old batter will look to score big the next time India Women play a Test match.
Some experienced India Women batters could not perform well
Mithali Raj - 3/10
Fans expected skipper Mithali Raj to lead India Women from the front. Unfortunately, she could aggregate only six runs in the two innings.
The team needed a big knock from her to capitalize on the brilliant opening stand in the first innings, but Raj lost her wicket to Sophie Ecclestone. Raj will be keen to bounce back stronger in the day/night Test against Australia Women.
Harmanpreet Kaur - 3/10
All-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur could not make her presence felt in the batting department during the Test against England Women. She scored 12 runs in two innings.
While Ecclestone trapped her in front of her stumps in the first innings, Kaur handed a catch to Amy Jones in the second innings. Kaur will aim to perform better in ODIs and T20Is.
Taniya Bhatia - 6/10
Wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia got out for a duck in the first innings. However, she had an important 104-run partnership with Sneh Rana for the ninth wicket in the second wicket.
Bhatia remained not out on 44 runs off 88 deliveries as she helped India Women save the Test. This innings would have given Taniya some much-needed confidence before the white-ball fixtures.
Shikha Pandey - 4/10
All-rounder Shikha Pandey failed to open her account in the first innings. But she improved her batting in the second innings and scored 18 runs from 50 balls.
Most importantly, she had a 41-run partnership with Sneh Rana that helped India Women extend their lead. Pandey could not take a wicket with the ball, but she contributed her bit with the bat in the second innings.
Sneh Rana - 8/10
Not many expected bowling all-rounder Sneh Rana to perform as impressively with the bat as she did. Rana, making her Test debut, remained not out on 80 off 154 balls in the second innings.
She played a pivotal role in denying England Women a victory. Indian fans will hope that she continues contributing in the same way in the next fixtures.
Deepti Sharma - 8/10
Deepti Sharma was another top performer for India Women in this game. She was the last woman standing on 29* in the first innings when England Women ran through the Indian batting lineup.
She received promotion to number three in the second innings, and she did not disappoint as the 23-year-old played a patient knock of 54 runs. Sharma played 168 balls for her 54 runs and increased the chances of India Women drawing the one-off Test match.
