Deepti Sharma starred for India with nine wickets in the match and 87 runs in total as India recorded a thumping 347-run win over England at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in the Test played in Navi Mumbai. England could muster scores of just 136 and 131 in response to India’s 428 and 186 for 6 declared. India have won three Tests so far against England, while the tourists’ only win came in the thriller at the Jamshedpur, way back in 1995-96.
As Day 3 commenced, England had a massive task on their hands. On a turning track, the visitors needed 479 for an unlikely win. For a while, Sophia Dunkely and Tammy Beaumont, the openers, played with freedom, but it didn’t take long for India to strike as Renuka Singh bowled a peach of a nip-backer to castle Beaumont.
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Rajeshwari Gayakwad takes the final wicket as #TeamIndia beat England by 347 runs in the only Test in Navi Mumbai.
Fantastic all-round performance #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/vNxqYw9CrL
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 16, 2023
Pooja Vastrakar followed it up by bagging the scalps of Dunkley and more importantly the prized wicket of Nat-Sciver Brunt for no score. Heather Knight, the skipper, and Charlotte Dean, lower down the order, reached the 20-run mark. But the other batters did not have much of a clue while facing Deepti. The all-rounder found more than enough side-spin and also bowled with control to run through the England batting unit.
The highlight of her wickets in the second innings was the way she spun one sharply to clean up Kate Cross. Deepti, who took a five-for in the first innings, ended up with figures of 4 for 32 in the second dig. Meanwhile, Vastrakar scalped three wickets and Rajaswahari Gayakwad took the other two wickets to fall.
India’s emphatic win was also down to the contributions of the batters. Jemimah Rodrigures, Shubha Satheesh, Yastika Bhatia and Deepti all made fifties in the first innings. Harmanpreet Kaur also made an impact with scores of 49 and 44.