Rating the performances of India Women bowlers in the one-off Test against England Women
India Women managed to draw their solitary Test match against the England Women at Bristol's County Ground. Although the women's teams received a 'used' surface to play Test cricket, both sides put up a great show and the fans enjoyed the 4-day game.
England Women were the favorites to win after they enforced a follow-on on India Women. However, some fantastic batting performances from the visitors ensured that neither team emerged as the clear winner.
While there were some brilliant individual performances in the batting unit, the India Women bowlers failed to impress. They gave away 396 runs to England Women in the first innings. In this article, we rate the performances of India Women's bowlers.
How did India Women's bowlers fare in the one-off Test?
Jhulan Goswami - 6/10
Jhulan Goswami spearheaded the India Women's pace attack in the Test against England Women. Having played multiple Test matches in her career, Jhulan was expected to make a massive impact in the game.
The 38-year-old bowled an economical spell of 1/58 in 21 overs. She bowled three maiden overs, but fans expected a few more wickets from the most experienced bowler in the India Women's lineup.
Shikha Pandey - 3/10
All-rounder Shikha Pandey had a forgettable Test against England Women. The medium pacer opened the bowling for India Women along with Jhulan Goswami. While Jhulan maintained an economy rate of 2.8, Shikha conceded runs at 4.1 runs per over.
In all, Shikha bowled 15 overs. Although she bowled three maidens, the English batters scored 61 runs off her bowling. Unfortunately, she could not take any wickets. Pandey will try to better her performance in the Day/Night Test versus Australian Women.
Pooja Vastrakar - 5/10
Pooja Vastrakar picked up the first wicket of the Test match. However, it proved to be her only wicket. Pooja bowled 14 overs in the first innings, returning with figures of 1/53.
Like Goswami and Pandey, Vastrakar bowled three maidens. Her economy rate of 3.8 was a touch higher than Goswami. Vastrakar will look forward to keeping a check on the run flow and taking more wickets in future games.
Sneh Rana - 8/10
Sneh Rana was the most successful bowler for India Women in this one-off Test match. She dismissed the quartet of Anya Shrubsole, Georgia Elwiss, Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont.
Considering that Rana was playing her first Test, it was a brilliant performance from the off-break bowler. Still, there was room for improvement as Sneh gave away 131 runs in her 39.2 overs spell during the first innings.
Deepti Sharma - 9/10
While Deepti Sharma picked up one wicket less than Sneh, she made more of an impact as she dismissed the dangerous duo of Natalie Sciver and Heather Knight. Sharma trapped both batters in front of their stumps.
Sophie Ecclestone was Deepti's third wicket of the game. The right-arm off-spinner bowled at a miserly economy rate of 2.4 runs per over and built pressure on England Women.
Harmanpreet Kaur - 3/10
Vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur has a five-wicket haul and a four-wicket haul to her name in Test cricket. But the 32-year-old remained wicketless in the Bristol Test against England Women.
She bowled only five overs in the game, conceding 25 runs at an economy rate of 5. Kaur did not have a great Test match with the bat either. The all-rounder will aim to work harder in the nets and up her game in the six upcoming white-ball matches.