ENG W vs IND W, 1st Test, Day 4: Exceptional batting earns India a draw

After what felt like an almost certain victory for England, India held on and played fantastic cricket to tie the one-off Test match on Saturday. Many feared a similar batting collapse to the one seen in their first innings. Their fears were not completely unfounded as there was a situation when it did seem like England was on course for a victory. However, a few gritty batting performances ensured that India held on and did not buckle under pressure. India’s outstanding performers in the second innings were perhaps not ones many had predicted. Batters of the side’s lower-middle order stood their ground and made sure that they stayed on the pitch until the last ball of the match was played.

Day 3 ended with India falling short of England’s mammoth first innings total of 396, and the hosts enforcing a follow on. The hope of a victory against the three lions on English soil was out of the question ever since that horrendous batting collapse in the first innings. The Indian batters had only one task, staying in the match until the final delivery, and that is exactly what they did.

The charge was led by teenager Shafali Verma, who scored an impressive 63 runs off 83 deliveries. That was followed by a monumental knock of 54 runs by Deepti Sharma. While there might not have been as many runs, the key to successfully tue a test match as the batting team is to play as many deliveries as possible. Sharma played 168 deliveries to achieve her score. Punam Raut also played a decent innings of 39 runs off 104 deliveries.

Then came a period where the English bowlers took quick wickets, that was somewhat reminiscent of the previous batting collapse. Skipper Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Pooja Vastrakar were all dismissed cheaply. The Indian fans, at this point, might have probably expected the worst and given up hope on the match.

THE SNEH RANA SPECTACLE

What followed was a sensational display of gritty, Test cricket batting, starring Sneh Rana. She played a marvelous knock of 80 runs off 154 deliveries and remained unbeaten until the end. She was the catalyst that drove India away from the clutches of what seemed like imminent defeat. Rana was very well supported towards the end by Shikha Pandey who made 18 off 50 deliveries, and wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia who scored 44 runs off 88 deliveries. Bhatia and Rana were the two standing right at the end when the umpires signaled the end of the match. India finished their innings with a humongous total of 344 for the loss of eight wickets. They had a lead of 179 runs.

Despite failing to clinch victory for their side, the English bowlers played exceptionally well. Their understanding of the home conditions and using them to the best of their abilities to trouble the Indian batting lineup worked like a dream, especially in the first innings. At a time when India had a first-wicket partnership of over 160, the English bowlers were not disheartened and came all guns blazing. The Indian batting order was bowled out as they trailed by 165. This allowed England to put more pressure and enforce the follow-on.

Perhaps if Rana and Bhatia had not been able to find their form in the second innings, the three lions would have won the one-off test match. The pick of the bowlers was Sophie Ecclestone, who picked up four wickets yet again. Nat Sciver came next as he picked a couple of wickets. Skipper Heather Knight and Katherine Brunt picked one wicket each.