A valiant unbeaten 29 by Deepti Sharma, who had starred with the ball earlier—picking up 3/65—could not prevent India Women from falling short of the follow-on mark, chasing England's first inning's total of 396/9, in the one-off Test in Bristol.
India Women were dismissed for 231 and were asked to follow on by the hosts. Sophie Ecclestone was the pick of the English bowlers, taking 4/88, with skipper Heather Knight chipping in with two wickets. The visitors had suffered a dramatic collapse yesterday, going from 167/0 to 187/5 at the end of day's play.
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England posted the highest-ever total against India after they declared their first innings at 396/9 but the visiting team openers Shafali Verma (96) and Smriti Mandhana (78) gave the hosts a befitting reply with a 167-run stand. The other batters, however, caved in without a fight.
Resuming today, India lost Harmanpreet Kaur and Taniya Bhatia without any addition to the overnight score. A 33-run partnership between Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar brought India close to the follow-on mark but India lost the last two wickets in jiffy once England took the new ball.
Earlier yesterday, England skipper Heather Knight, who scored 95 in the first innings, triggered the collapse by dismissing Punam Raut (2) and Shikha Pandey (0).
Skipper Mithali Raj was trapped by left-arm spinner Ecclestone as the hosts turned the tide in their favour in the last session.