da aposte e ganhe： In their second innings, India also struggled against spin but had a lead of 478 by stumps
da 888： Vishal Dikshit15-Dec-2023After dominating the first day with the bat, India bossed the second day’s play even more fiercely in Navi Mumbai, by spinning a web around England and bowling them out for just 136 in reply to their first-innings total of 428. It was Deepti Sharma’s use of generous flight and turn that started England’s dramatic collapse of 7 for 28 as soon as she came to bowl on a 19-wicket day, of which 15 fell to spin. Deepti finished with stunning figures of 5 for 7, her maiden five-for, from just 5.3 overs that included four maidens and made England look completely clueless.India didn’t enforce the follow-on despite a massive lead of 292, and even though they didn’t stitch partnerships as they did on the first day, they continued to score at well over four an over to finish the second day on 186 for 6, extending their lead to 478 with two days still left in the game. It is possible, though, that their first-innings top-scorer – debutant Satheesh Shubha – may not bat because of a hairline fracture on her left hand.Related
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At lunch, England were in a decent position of 67 for 2. Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver-Brunt brought up a half-century stand but once Beaumont fell to a direct hit from Vastrakar, who swooped to square leg from short midwicket to end any hopes of a quick single, England couldn’t put on any more sizeable partnerships.Debutant Renuka Singh had bowled Sophia Dunkley with an inducker for 11 and Vastrakar had removed captain Heather Knight by trapping her lbw in the first session. From 28 for 2, England were primarily led by the ever-reliable Sciver-Brunt, who started with a flurry of boundaries and collected more of them whenever the bowlers were too full or too short. After lunch, India returned with a renewed aggression, though.Nat Sciver-Brunt scored a fighting half-century•BCCI
Once Beaumont was run out for 10 in the third over after the break, four boundaries from Danni Wyatt against Vastrakar gave England hopes of another steady stand. But Deepti dashed any such aspirations. Her second ball had Wyatt caught at short leg off an inside edge for 19, and even though Sciver-Brunt brought up her fourth Test fifty next over, Deepti returned with two wickets in an over, the first of which was aided by luck. A pull from Amy Jones hit Smriti Mandhana on the helmet at short leg and ricocheted to Shafali Verma at leg slip for a sitter. Two balls later, Deepti turned the ball in sharply and it kept low to knock back Sophie Ecclestone’s off stump for a duck.At 126 for 6, Sciver-Brunt was England’s only hope, but she too lost her off stump in the next over when Sneh Rana tossed the ball up generously and turned it in viciously to beat the batter. Deepti and Rana kept tossing the ball up around 70kph, and the flight and turn from outside off kept beating the batters. Charlie Dean was lbw when she left one just outside off against sharp turn from Rana, Kate Cross handed a return catch to Deepti before Lauren Filer also lost her stumps after being beaten by the turn. England were all out in just 35.3 overs, losing their last seven in just 10.2 overs to spin.Despite having a lead of almost 300 and having bowled for just over a session, India surprisingly came out to bat again. England also gave the second over to a spinner this time, but Ecclestone’s first ball was smacked over wide long-on for six by Mandhana in an 11-run over. When Knight dropped Shafali’s thick edge at second slip off Lauren Bell in the next over and another fell short of first slip, it looked like it was going to be another day of chances either not going to the England fielders’ hands or not sticking. England, however, changed that later in the last session by holding on to four catches, but not before Mandhana and Shafali took the lead past 350 with their fifty stand.Smriti Mandhana scored quickly at the start of the second innings•BCCI
Mandhana continued to attack Ecclestone whereas Shafali muscled Charlie Dean for a six over long-on and also used a review to get the on-field lbw decision overturned in the next over by Cross to pile on more agony on England. Ecclestone’s return for her second spell started with a six from Shafali but the left-arm spinner had Mandhana caught at short leg in the same over to finally end the opening stand.India promoted Yastika Bhatia in the absence of Shubha but she and Shafali fell in consecutive overs to England’s spinners. First, Shafali holed out to long-on for 33 and then Bhatia couldn’t account for the extra bounce Ecclestone extracted and handed another catch to Beaumont at short leg. Since the England spinners bowled much fuller and quicker than their counterparts, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues used the drives and sweeps. Rodrigues was more brisk but when Dean slowed one down a fair bit, the flight and drift took her inside edge to short leg where Beaumont pouched her third.Dean was soon on a hat-trick when she trapped Deepti, who tried one sweep to many, and had Rana bowled for a golden duck. What was otherwise a precarious score of 133 for 6 wasn’t too troubling for India because their lead had sailed past 400, and with Harmanpreet solid at one end on 44 at stumps, they will be looking to set an even stiffer target on Saturday.Earlier in the first session, England took under 40 minutes to pick up India’s remaining three wickets for just 18 runs, despite putting down two more chances, both by close-in fielders off Ecclestone. Deepti first got a life on 62 in the third over of the day when Beaumont put one down at short leg and Renuka was later dropped at silly point by Dunkley. Bell, however, tempted Deepti to drive with full and swinging deliveries from around the wicket and got her outside edge to have her caught behind for 67 to finish with 3 for 67. Ecclestone soon wrapped up India’s innings by yorking Renuka and then having Rajeshwari Gayakwad caught at silly point.
