Shafali Verma shines but India women on backfoot against England
Jun 18, 2021
Bristol [UK], June 18 : Shafali Verma hit a half-century in the second innings of the ongoing one-off Test, but England remained in a dominant position here at the County Ground, Bristol.
At stumps, India's score reads 83/1 and the visitors are still trailing by 82 runs. For India, Shafali and Deepti Sharma are unbeaten on 55 and 18 respectively. Earlier on Day Three, the Mithali Raj-led side was asked to follow on.
Trailing by 165, India openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana put on 29 runs inside the first five overs, but right on the cusp of lunch break, Mandhana (8) lost her wicket to Katherine Brunt.
Deepti Sharma then joined Shafali in the middle and the duo kept on ticking the scorecard at a brisk pace, taking the score to 83/1 in 24.3 overs. Rain played spoilsport then and an early tea was forced to be taken on Day Three. Eventually, no play was possible after that, and stumps were called.
Earlier, resuming Day Three at 187/5, India got off to a poor start as the side lost Harmanpreet Kaur (4), Taniya Bhatia (0), and Sneh Rana (2) in quick succession. Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar then added 33 runs for the ninth wicket, but this stand was cut short by Katherine Brunt as she sent Vastrakar (12) back to the pavilion, reducing the visitors to 230/9.
Anya Shrubsole got the final wicket of Jhulan Goswami (1) and India was bowled out for 231. The hosts England then enforced the follow-on.
Brief Scores: England Women 396/9d; India Women 231 and 83/1 (Shafali Verma 55*, Deepti Sharma 18*, Katherine Brunt 1-21).
