It seemed as if the writing was on the wall when India Women’s middle-order buckled under pressure, losing five wickets in a jiffy, but Sneh Rana put a premium on her wicket and subjected hosts England to a 31-over long, fruitless toil to ensure a respectable draw in the one-off Test at Bristol.
Having gone to Tea at 243 for 8 with a lead of 78, England would’ve felt they had the game in the bag. Although they were in for a shocker as the defiant duo of Rana (80*) and Taniya Bhatia (44*) pulled off an incredible jailbreak, adding a record 104 runs for the ninth wicket.
To put things in perspective, India were reduced to 199 for 7, but the tail wagged ferociously, stitching stands of 41 and 104 for the eighth and ninth wickets as England were left with no choice but to relinquish their grasp on the game. Sophie Ecclestone was once again the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, but none of them could rain on the unbeaten pair’s parade.
As has been the trend this Test, India lost a…