England wanted to finish its 100th Test and the final assignment on the 22 yards with a victory to take some holiday cheer back home for the Christmas-New Year break.
India Women vs England Women Only Test Full Scorecard
However, instead of some victory eggnog, England was left swallowing the bitter tonic of defeat after crumbling to a 347-run loss on day three in the lone Test against India at the D.Y. Patil Stadium here on
IND-W vs ENG-W HIGHLIGHTS, One-off Test
Perhaps expecting to begin the day by trying to bowl India out as soon as possible, England was handed a curveball when India decided to declare on its overnight score of 186/6.
With a hefty lead of 478, India set out to strike the English resistance down piece by piece.
Vastrakar’s probing lines became a headache for a tired English side which threw in the towel without much of a resistance. The delivery to dismiss Nat Sciver-Brunt was particularly brutal as it hastened the English collapse. | Photo Credit: AP
India bundled England out for 136 in three and a half hours on day two but needed just two hours and 10 minutes to wrap up its first Test win against England on home soil and the biggest win in Women’s Tests in terms of runs with a neat bow. On a hot morning here, India sealed the Test with a scrumptious English breakfast buffest with almost every bowler getting a slice of the pie.
England vice captain Natalie Sciver-Brunt, the only batter who looked to have any semblance of control, spoke about bettering footwork and focus and to dig deep and defend.
Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont walked out determined to follow the blueprint. Dunkley managed to keep Renuka Singh Thakur, who has had her number throughout this series. Renuka got her opener, but it was Beaumont who succumbed to the seamer’s nagging stump-to-stump bowling.
Deepti Sharma fell a wicket short of finishing the game with two five wicket hauls. Deepti’s combined figures of 9/39 are the second-best performance by an Indian in red-ball Internationals. Jhulan Goswami is the only Indian woman to take a 10-wicket match haul, doing so against the same opponent in 2006. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
Dunkley also would fall eventually to seam, but to Pooja Vastrakar who tempted her with a slightly wide delivery, forcing her to attempt a slice which went straight to Harleen Deol.
Vastrakar sent shockwaves through the English dugout with a ripper to rock Sciver-Brunt’s stumps off the very first ball she faced. Struggling at 37/3 with a mammoth target of 442 runs still to get, the onus was on skipper Heather Knight and Danielle Wyatt.
However, neither could find a way to stick on at the crease. Once Knight fell to Vastrakar after misjudging the ball’s trajectory, with England reeling at 68/4, Deepti Sharma then took over and finished the job with some help from Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Her heavy lifting with bat and ball meant Deepti was adjudged player of the match for her nine wicket haul and knocks of 67 and 20.
Harmanpreet Kaur, whose Test captaincy gets off the mark with a massive win, will now lead her side in another red ball fixture against a more challenging opponent in Alyssa Healy’s Australia at the Wankhede Stadium from December 21-24.
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