Debutants Shubha, Jemimah put India in strong position
Playing their first home Test in nine years, India reach 410/7 on Day 1 of their one-off Test against England
The Indian women's team couldn't have enjoyed a better return to Test cricket at home. Playing their first home Test in nine years, India reached 410/7 in 94 overs on Day 1 of the one-off Test against England at the DY Patil Stadium thanks to half-centuries by Satheesh Shubha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia and Deepti Sharma. In a team where Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur are the big batting stars, the emergence of Shubha at No. 3 would have particularly pleased the fans that turned up.
On Test debut, Shubha cracked a 76-ball 69 as her first day in international cricket went according to plan. The 24-year-old was making her Test debut alongside Jemimah Rodrigues and Renuka Singh Thakur, but unlike the other two, this was her first day in international cricket. Rodrigues, also on Test debut, stepped up with 68 off 99 balls, stitching together a 115-run partnership for the third wicket with Shubha.
Much of the talk heading into the game was about England looking to continue their aggressive brand of cricket under coach Jon Lewis, but it was India that batted with a refreshing sense of freedom after winning the toss. This is the second-highest total by a team on the first day of a Test, and the third-highest total by India in the format. With Deepti unbeaten on 60, India will be looking to add a few more runs to their tally on Day 2.
India were off to a free-flowing start but found themselves in a spot of bother at 47/2 after Lauren Bell got Mandhana to chop on and Kate Cross cleaned up Shafali Verma with a peach. Debutants Shubha and Jemimah joined hands thereafter to cobble together an important partnership.
Shubha, who edged out Richa Ghosh and Harleen Deol for a spot in the eleven, walked in at No. 3. She hit the second ball of her innings for four with an authoritative cover drive, going onto bring up a 49-ball half-century with a perfect on-drive. Between these strokes, she commanded the crease like a seasoned Test batter.
The left-hander was comfortable against pace as well as spin, and seemed to have all the conventional shots in her repertoire. She drove, cut, pulled and swept with authority to keep picking boundaries.
Having missed out on the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League, Shubha was picked for her base price of ₹10 lakh by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the recent player auction ahead of the second season. She has been a consistent performer for Karnataka in domestic white-ball cricket and notched up scores of 99 and 49 during India’s four-day intra-squad practice game at the NCA before the England series.
“It’s all happening. I can just say that it’s my time. It feels amazing that I’ve kept getting good news one after another,” said Shubha, who was told she’ll be playing only on Thursday morning.
“It’s been quite a journey for me because I’ve been in the domestic circuit for six-seven years now. Getting an India call-up felt like living a dream. I used to play all other sports when I was in school and began playing cricket when I was 12. I think I’m a fortunate cricketer because I never had any thought of becoming a professional. I feel it’s a process and I’m out of words at the moment.”
Jemimah also deserved a lot of credit for putting England under the cosh. Despite walking in when India lost two early wickets, the 23-year-old didn’t hesitate in going for her shots. She hit 11 fours in her innings.
England, who were playing their 100th Test, would’ve hoped to trigger a collapse once Shubha and Jemimah perished within five overs of each other to leave India at 190/4. But then came another big partnership as Yastika joined Harmanpreet at the crease. The duo added 116 runs for the fifth wicket with Yastika, playing just her second Test, completing her first half-century (66 off 88) in the format. Harmanpreet, however, was run out on 49 after her bat got stuck just outside the crease as she tried to slide it back in, similar to her dismissal during the T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia earlier this year.
A memorable day for India concluded with Deepti (60*) and Sneh Rana (30) putting on a 92-run partnership to leave England in a deep hole heading into Day 2.