One-off women’s Test: Sneh, Taniya take India to fighting draw

Bristol, June 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) Powered by a gritty unbeaten 80 (154 balls) by debutant Sneh Rana and her unfinished 104-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Taniya Bhatia (44 not out, 88 balls), India stole a draw in the one-off women's Test against England here on Saturday.

Sneh became the first Indian woman cricketer to take four wickets and score a half-century in Test cricket.

India, who had looked down and out at one point in time when they were at 199 for seven wickets while following on before tea, saw gritty batting from the lower order against an England bowling attack that seemed to be tiring.

After Deepti Sharma (54 off 168), opener Shafali Verma (63 off 83), and Punam Raut (39 off 104) had provided a strong platform for India, the middle-order crumbled. India lost four wickets for 24 runs to be reduced to 199/7 from 171/3 and were in danger of losing the match before the tea break.

However, a 41-run partnership in just under 17 overs between Sneh and Shikha Pandey (18 off 50 balls) helped India stretch England and give some hope.

After Shikha was dismissed, Sneh and Taniya buckled down and batted for 30.4 overs to save the Test for India.

For England, left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone was the most successful bowler with 4/118 in 38 overs. She had picked four for 88 off 26 overs in the first innings.

Shafali was declared the Player of the Match for her 96 and 63 in the Test. Shafali and Sneh were among five debutants that India fielded in this Test match.

Brief scores: England: 396/9 dec; India: 231 and 344/8 in 121 overs (S Rana 80 not out, S Verma 63, D Sharma 54, T Bhatia 44 not out, P Raut 39, S Ecclestone 4/118)

Source: IANS