All is 'swell' for India

India’s Jemimah Rodrigues (left) and Satheesh Shubha during their 115-run stand yesterday. Pic/PTI

It was an energy-sapping day for the England women's team as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side posted a mammoth 410-7 on Day One of the one-off Test at the DY Patil Stadium here on Thursday.

The visitors were kept on the field the whole day with as many as four Indian batters registering half-centuries. Two young debutants - Mysore-based left-hander Shubha Satheesh (69, 13x4) and Mumbai girl Jemimah Rodrigues (68, 11x4) stood out for their classic knocks.

Three big partnerships

Though none of them converted a good start into a three-figure score, the Indian girls had three big partnerships. Satheesh and Rodrigues stitched a 115-run stand for the third wicket. Skipper Kaur, who was dismissed for 49 through Danni Wyatt's quick throw from mid-off, had a 116-run stand for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia (66, 10x4, 1x6). And then, No. 7 Deepti Sharma, who was unbeaten on 60 (9x4, 1x6) at stumps, enjoyed a 92-run stand with No. 8 Sneh Rana (30, 5x4).

Satheesh, 24, who revealed that she played several team sports at the school level, smashed a stylish cover-driven four to open her account on the very second ball she faced (off pacer Lauren Bell, who went on to claim 2-64).

She reached her maiden Test half-century with a superbly timed straight drive which went for four.

Left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone gave the visitors a much-needed wicket when she had Satheesh caught by mid-wicket fielder Nat Sciver-Brunt.

Satheesh and Rodrigues, who have known each other from age group cricket, had wonderful understanding while running between wickets. Rodrigues, 23, took charge after opener Shafali Verma's (19) departure in the ninth over, welcoming pacer Lauren Filer with a couple of fours. She dispatched the same bowler to the mid-wicket fence with a perfectly timed pull shot.

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Rodrigues, who went to lunch on 37, drove Filer to the fence off the very first ball she faced after the break. Her half-century came about through a well-placed boundary off Bell.

Satheesh, who was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for R10 lakh at the recent Women's Premier League auction, reflected on her journey: "I have been in domestic cricket for six-seven years now. Getting an India call-up was a living-a-dream sort of thing. I just had to play good cricket - that is all I believe in," Satheesh said during the post-match press conference.

‘A learning process'

When asked about missing a century, she remarked: "It is always a learning process. I will definitely learn from this, move on and get a bigger one next time."
Meanwhile, England bowler Bell lavished praise on Shubha and Rodrigues. "They both batted really well. We had to work really hard for our wickets," Bell said.

Brief scores
India 410-7 (S Shubha 69, J Rodrigues 68, Y Bhatia 66, D Sharma 60', H Kaur 49, S Rana 30; L Bell 2-64) v England