Indian all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar was at her best in the field on Day 2 of the Test match against England women. She did not just pick one wicket but also effected a run-out that will be remembered by the India fans for a long time. Vastrakar was simply superb in inside the circle as she covered good ground to pick up the ball cleanly with one hand and then throwing it directly to the stumps.
The run-out showed the athleticism of the player as that effort landed India their first wicket. The batter was Tammy Beaumont, who was surely surprised by that fielding display, not knowing that Vastrakar is one of the bright fielders in the Indian team. Nat Sciver-Brunt pushed the ball to mid-wicket and ran, Tammy stormed in from non-striker's end but she was beaten by agility and sharpness of Vastrakar.
Solid anticipation _
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 15, 2023
Clean pick-up _
Spot-on accuracy _
__ ___ ____: Pooja Vastrakar's fielding brilliance _ _
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Talking about the game, England women were bowled out for just 136 runs in the first innings when they came to post a reply to India's heavy target. India had tighened the grip on the game. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, India women put up 428 for loss of ten wickets in 104.3 pvers with as many as four half-centuries from Indian batters.
On debut, Shubha Satheesh shome as she strck 69 off just 76 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues hit a 99-ball 68 and Yastika Bhatia scored 66 off 88 balls. Deepti Sharma was the other fifty-scorer for India women. India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur made 49 off 81 balls before she got run out. But India's collective punch helped the team reach a big total.
Deepti was the chief achitect in bring the England batting down as she picked up a five-for. At the same time, Renuka Singh picked one wicket as well as Vastrakar while Sneh Rana bagged two wickets. India women had a thick lead of 292 runs in the second innings as they look set to clinch a superb win in the Only Test, the first at home since 2014.
Earlier, India lost the T20I series to England women 2-1. England won the first two matches but India bounced back in the third T20I to avoid a clean sweep. The Test match win will certainly help the players' confidence in the Test format and push the board to organise more Tests in future. Having said that, there is a still long way to go in this Test and India must to look to continue the domination.
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