England vs India, one-off Test, day one as it happened: Spinners bring India back into the match

STUMPS: England 269/6 (92 overs):

England were cruising at 230/2, and then the spinners stepped up to drag India back into the match. Quite a delightful day of Test cricket and both teams have reasons to be pleased. As the old cliche goes, the first hour is going to be crucial tomorrow. Join us then.

STUMPS: England 269/6 (92 overs)

End of a fascinating day of Test cricket. At one point, it felt like a hard day of toil would be the headline for India. But the spinners brought the visitors back into the match. From 2/230, England went to 6/251 thanks to Rana and Deepti. Dunkley and Brunt steadied at the end.

Time enough for one more over. India will finish 8 short of the mark it looks like. Highly likely to result in a fine. Rana continues.

Review lost by India: Shikha Pandey and her teammates are confident about this LBW. But there’s an inside edge from Dunkley’s bat. The umpiring has been fantastic today.

Just one over for Goswami with the new ball then. Radar was quite off, she’ll hopefully have another go with it tomorrow. Shikha Pandey comes on.

England 267/6: Brunt 7, Dunkley 11

Brilliant from Shafali Verma to put that full length dive in in the 90th over of the day to stop the ball at point from going for a four. Wonderful to see such little things.

Sneh Rana comes on to share the new ball with her off-spin. Interesting call. Will see more bounce for her?

England 265/6: Brunt 6, Dunkley 9

The radar completely off for Goswami there. Perhaps understandably so, her body must be feeling it. Down the leg side repeatedly and even one wide outside off stump. That’s not like her.

Second new ball has been taken after 88 overs. Jhulan Goswami, who has already bowled 17 overs today, will have another go. England have recovered a bit after quick wickets, can India finish well?

England 263/6: Brunt 6, Dunkley 9

Well, not a new ball move to bring Jhulan then. Just Jhulan for Jhulan’s sake. Deepti Sharma continues with the old ball from the other end. 87 overs done.

86 overs done, and Jhulan Goswami comes on to bowl. That should be the new ball taken soon then (not immediately, but imminent).

First innings, England 256/6: Brunt 4, Dunkley 4

Dunkley digging it out there. Brunt is a brilliant batter, and a character who thrives when she faces a challenge. This is still fascinatingly poised. 84 overs done. We are getting into the final 30 minutes, 16 overs left to bowl. Not likely.

Zenia D’Cunha: A late batting collapse from England and a superb passage of play from Indian spinners has completely changed the complexion of the Day 1 4 wickets & 24 runs in the last 10 overs

England 251/6: WICKET! And the spinners continue to strike! Sneh Rana has her third wicket, Georgia Elwiss finds Deepti Sharma at first slip. Who makes no mistake whatsoever this time with the catch. When things are going your way.... the Indians are pumped!

Not surprising, India have not taken the second new ball immediately. The spinners have been brilliant in this phase of play and two new batters in, Mithali opting to build pressure with close in fielders. Rana will continue.

England 244/5: 80th over coming up, Rana will continue. When Deepti Sharma put that catch down, it felt like a sign of a hard day’s toil for India. Since then, Nat Sciver, Amy Jones and Heather Knight have walked back. It’s been quite the turnaround in the final session with the old ball.

WICKET! AND IT’S THE BIG ONE! Captain Heather Knight is walking back (95) and it is Deepti Sharma with her second of the day. Another LBW decision, another review by England. Umpire’s call. What a TURNaround, this.

England 244/4: Couple of nervy moments for Knight in the 90s. A quick run attempted and a direct hit from Mithali would have had her in trouble. Won’t be surprising if the second new ball is postponed here with the pressure building from spinners.

Zenia D’Cunha: Pep in step, indeed! 2 quick wickets after 70+ overs is important.

Sophia Dunkley, England’s debutant, is in the middle.

India are audibly pumped at the moment.

England 236/4: WICKET! Well, well, well. Amy Jones is gone for 1 as Sneh Rana has a second wicket. India striking in quick intervals with the old ball in the final session. England have lost two reviews too as Jones reviews this LBW decision. Three reds on DRS again. Length delivery, turning in, Jones completely missed it.

India’s wicket-takers so far: 

 Pooja Vastrakar: 1st Test wicket 

Sneh Rana: 1st Test wicket 

Deepti Sharma: 1st Test wicket  

First innings, England 232/3 — Knight (85), Jones (0)

Wicketkeeper Amy Jones is the new batter, another supremely talented English cricketer. Task doesn’t get any easier for India but they have a second new ball to look forward to soonish. 74 overs done.

England 230/3: WICKET! Well, that’s one way to make up for a dropped catch. Deepti Sharma comes back into the attack and traps Nat Sciver plumb in front. Damage limited, partnership broken. Now three different debutants have struck for India. Sciver uses up the review as well. Tried sweeping, no bat involved, got hit full on her pads. As out as it could be.

First innings, England 227/2 — Knight (82), Sciver (41)

Sneh Rana has been steady, bowling 20 overs now. Showing her experience on debut, if that makes sense. Keeping things nice and simple. Spin persisted with from both ends, this time Deepti comes back.

OH DEAR! Nat Sciver hits one straight to Deepti Sharma at midwicket. She is one of India’s better fielders but perhaps the sign of weariness. She puts it down. Simple chance, big miss. Harmanpreet Kaur the bowler. Second chance put down by India. Different head coach, different season, different format but familiar problems. England 220/2 after 70 overs.

First innings, England 209/2 — Knight (69), Sciver (25)

Kaur and Rana bowling in tandem now and the decision to have three finger spinners in the side seems more and more like a miscalculation by the Indian camp in an England side packed with only RHBs. Too much of sameness in this Indian bowling attack.

First innings, England 198/2 — Knight (69), Sciver (25)

Rana-Sharma managed to induce the odd inside edge and false shot here and there but no clear cut chances even as the England batters keep their scoreboard ticking. Vastrakar and Kaur have come on to bowl now, in what could be seen as a sign that Mithali is now going to Plan C or D.

STAT: Shafali Verma (at 17 years 139 days) is the THIRD youngest ever woman to play Test cricket for India. For Indian men and women combined, sixth youngest to make Test debut.

This tweet from a while back makes sense, even if the cliche goes that don’t judge a pitch till both teams have batted:

First innings, England 185/2 — Knight (60), Sciver (21)

It’s been a bit overcast at the start of the session but India persist with spinners. Smriti Mandhana interestingly has taken over at short leg. Wonder if it was a reaction to Shafali’s reactions to protect herself earlier, despite that superb catch she took. Good call, either way.

FIFTY! A half century for Heather Knight on the day she reached a century of matches as England captain. A solid innings from her, 52 off 115 balls. When she gets going, few batters better in world cricket. It’s her third half century in Tests to go with a century. England 168/2.

England 163/2: Spin in tandem, for the first time today, to start the final session. (Overrates a factor too perhaps) Deepti Sharma has been underbowled so far, should definitely see more of her in this phase.

Time for the final session on day one in Bristol. Can India find some breakthroughs? Spin in tandem right away.

1st session: 86/1 (27 overs)

2nd session: 76/1 (28 overs)

TEA , DAY ONE: First innings, England 162/2 — Knight (47), Sciver (11)

A near identical session to the first. India would be happy with the control they showed on what looks like a dream batting pitch but still, not much to trouble the English batters. Sneh Rana (thanks to a sharp catch by Shafali Verma) with the only wicket in that session.

First innings, England 159/2 — Knight (45), Sciver (10)

A big mix up between the English batters but no damage done going for a second. Bowling changes galore. Vastrakar to bowl the last before tea.

First innings, England 156/2 — Knight (42), Sciver (10)

Just a 2-over spell for Goswami and then Pandey comes on for a over. And close to end of session again, Deepti in for just her SIXTH over.

First innings, England 151/2 — Knight (37), Sciver (10)

England have their captain and newly-appointed all-format vice captain in the middle now. Mithali wasting no time in bringing back Jhulan Goswami into the attack. Sciver gets going in no time, with two fours off Goswami, shots on either side of the wicket. 150 comes up for England.

ENGLAND: 141/2 WICKET! SUPERB CATCH! Shafali Verma with a terrific effort at short leg and it is another debutant who strikes for India. Sneh Rana dismisses the well-set Tammy Beaumont. Great anticipation from the youngster, and a good set up by Indians who had sensed that Beaumont was not quite getting her pad away in time when cramped for room.

First innings, England 140/1 — Beaumont (66), Knight (36)

Wasn’t a chance in that over but Shafali was again in no position to take a catch / attempt one when Beaumont got an inside edge. This is definitely something that the support staff need to look at. If she is THIS uncomfortable, then surely this plan has to be changed? Vastrakar has looked in good rhythm this spell, varying her length nicely but misses it at the end of her 10th over for a full toss for a much-needed four for Knight.

First innings, England 134/1 — Beaumont (65), Knight (31)

The commentators are picking up on Shafali Verma’s technique (or lack thereof) at short leg for spinners. She is putting her hands up to shield herself too early, they feel. She’s never been the most natural of fielders but India seem to be without much option here as Raut was seen getting treatment on her back earlier.

First innings, England 134/1 — Beaumont (65), Knight (31)

Sneh Rana comes back into the attack as Mithali continues to rotate her bowlers around in this session. Down the track and played elegantly through midwicket for a four by Beaumont.

First innings, England 129/1 — Beaumont (61), Knight (30)

Mithali yet to use spinners in tandem today, now it is Vatsrakar joining Pandey. The youngster bowls a testing over to Beaumont, trying out a couple of yorkers.

First innings, England 129/1 — Beaumont (61), Knight (30)

HALF CHANCE! As we see so often, a loose shot after a break in play. Knight has been super solid since she walked out to the middle, but throws her bat at a wide one from Pandey. If Harmanpreet Kaur had caught that, would have been quite the addition to her already impressive highlight reel of spectacular catches. She came close with her leap, just out of her reach.

First innings, England 125/1 — Beaumont (55), Knight (19)

A drinks break as England make it two half century partnerships to start this innings. 27/0 in the last 10 overs is good control from India but they have not exactly threatened either batter. The spinners need to be doing more for Mithali Raj’s side.

First innings, England 117/1 — Beaumont (55), Knight (19)

40 overs done in the day. Remember it is a 100-over day because it is a four-day match, India need to be picking up their over-rate ideally. A boundary for Beaumont off Rana just when it seemed India are starting to strangle the run-scoring. Not quite finding their groove the England batters at the moment, but India need to show more than just pressure for this phase.

First innings, England 112/1 — Beaumont (55), Knight (19)

Not Deepti, but Sneh Rana to bowl from the end Goswami was bowling from. India are trying their luck with a leg slip in this session for their offspinners. The sweep has been productive for England.

First innings, England 110/1 — Beaumont (53), Knight (19)

Goswami has bowled 14 overs now. Her efficiency has not dropped off significantly, but surely that’s the last of her bowling for a while now? From the other end, Shikha Pandey comes on. Could mean a change of end for Deepti to replace Goswami, we’ll see. Meanwhile, the pitch continues to look great for batting.

First innings, England 104/1 — Beaumont (51), Knight (15)

Goswami has not just found her consistency in the second session yet, it cannot be easy for her as the day wears on. She is just used to ODIs these days remember, hasn’t bowled more than 10 for a while in a match. Already bowled 13 here.

HALF CENTURY! Tammy Beaumont has looked in solid touch throughout the morning and she is carrying on her good form from earlier in the year. It’s second half century in Tests (in her 5th match). Next milestone would be to cross 70, her career best.

First innings, England 94/1 — Beaumont (48), Knight (8)

England batters not putting away some of the shortish deliveries that are coming their way. Tidy start from Goswami and Deepti. Poonam Yadav is on the field, unclear in place of who.

First innings, England 90/1 — Beaumont (44), Knight (8)

Jhulan Goswami has started off proceedings in the second session (with a peach to Knight no less). Can India pick up a couple of quick wickets? The pitch looks increasingly great for batting.

FIRST SESSION RECAP: (via PTI)

India got rid of Lauren Winfield-Hill (35) after toiling hard as England reached a solid 86 for one at lunch on the opening day in Bristol. 

Tammy Beaumont was batting on 44 while giving her company was skipper Heather Knight (4) at the break. The Indian pace duo of veteran Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey made a promising start, doing just enough to trouble the English batters on more than one occasion.

In the seventh over, Goswami induced an edge from Winfield-Hill as the batter went for an extravagant drive but Smriti Mandhana dropped the chance in the slip cordon despite getting both hands on the ball.

In the next over, Winfield got lucky again. Debutant Pooja Vastrakar induced a thick edge from the batter but the ball flew between second slip and gully to the boundary.

After a slow and cautious start, England picked up the pace. Winfield was the more positive of the two batters as she lofted Pandey over the mid-wicket to hit the first six of the innings and in the process brought up England’s fifty in the 17th over.

An over later, Winfield hit another maximum, this time over backward square leg off Vastrakar. Vastrakar eventually had the last laugh as she had Winfield caught by wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia, giving India the breakthrough.

As many as five players made Test debut for India, including Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatt, while for England Sophia Dunkley was the lone player to earn a Test cap.

Indian women are playing their first Test match in seven years. They last played in this format of the game in November 2014 against South Africa in Mysuru  

Second session about to get underway:

LUNCH: First innings, England 86/1 — Beaumont (44), Knight (4)

Deepti bowls one of the balls of the morning as she sneaks a classic offspinner’s delivery through the defence of Beaumont, and on that encouraging note for India it will be lunch in Bristol. England’s morning for sure, though. Beaumont says the target for England is go past 300 in their first innings as she walks off the pitch. Adds it’s a pretty much what they would have signed up for at this point of the match after deciding to bat first.

Deepti Sharma to bowl what is set to be the last over before lunch.

First innings, England 83/1: Beaumont (43), Knight (4)

Oh what a shot! She might as well be batting on 150* the way she timed that cover drive for four but it’s a solid way to get off the mark.

First innings, England 79/1: Beaumont (43), Knight (0)

Beaumont into the 40s with a superb pull shot. She has been nailing that shot because she picks up the length so early. Goswami immediately corrects her length.

First innings, England 75/1: Beaumont (39), Knight (0)

Beaumont plays a delightful drive for four down the ground. Mithali brings back Goswami, a good move to go with your best bowler against the opponent’s best batter.

Heather Knight is the new batter in for England. India would love dearly to get her before she settles in on what looks to be a top batting pitch.

England 69/1 (21 overs) WICKET! Superb catch by Taniya Bhatia and there’s the breakthrough. Just when it looked like the English openers were looking to make it a toil for India, Pooja Vastrakar strikes to remove Winfield-Hill. Her first Test wicket and one that India really needed because things starting to look tough for them. Very full this time, LWH is a bit late on the drive, Bhatia throws herself in front of slip to take the catch.

First innings, England 66/0: Winfield-Hill (35), Beaumont (32)

oh, that is another fantastic shot by Winfield-Hill. This time, Vastrakar bangs one in short and it is pulled behind square for six. Similar shot, same result. She is on song at the moment. Indian fielders given a proper workover at the moment as the openers find gaps with regular intervals. Beaumont brings out her favourite sweep a couple of times in the Rana over.

First innings, England 57/0: Winfield-Hill (29), Beaumont (28)

Significant gear change for England. Misfield from Mandhana results in a four and then Winfield-Hill plays the shot of the morning by some distance as she rocks back and pulls one elegantly for six. Expensive over from Pandey, who seems to be operating with a cross seam now.

First innings, England 41/0: Winfield-Hill (19), Beaumont (22)

A huddle and “Go India!” after the drinks break as the visitors try to regroup after a testing first hour. Bhatia is standing up to the stumps to Pandey now, interestingly. Rana continues from the other end as Raj goes pace-spin which might be the majority of what we see today.

First innings, England 39/0: Winfield-Hill (18), Beaumont (21)

Sneh Rana with a solid first over and that will be drinks. 14 overs in the first hour. The overrate should pick up here once the spinners get going. England will be happy at the moment

Sneh Rana is the first spinner on display from India. She is back to playing international cricket after. She had a really good Women’s Senior One Day Trophy campaign.

First innings, England 38/0: Winfield-Hill (18), Beaumont (20)

Vastrakar just starting to make run-scoring a bit easier for England. 14 from her first three, as LWH pulls a short ball with disdain. And from the other, Goswami continues and this is probably the first real short ball she has bowled. This time pulled away by Beaumont for four. A risky single in that over off the last ball results in overthrows. The fielding is just not quite up to the mark from India.

First innings, England 27/0: Winfield-Hill (14), Beaumont (13)

Jhulan continues to produce a peach every now and then but there is no bite on this surface. It really does seem a beaut to bat on.

First innings, England 25/0: Lauren Winfield-Hill (13), Tammy Beaumont (12)

Vastrakar presenting a good seam position, she is going fuller than both Pandey and Goswami did. LWH plays the shot of the morning, leaning into a cover drive for four.

First innings, England 21/0: Lauren Winfield-Hill (9), Tammy Beaumont (12)

Vastrakar is the first-change. She too gets the outside edge early, but the slip cordon is thinning out now and it goes through safely for four. Goswami is into her fifth over from the other end. Giving nothing away.

First innings, England 14/0: Lauren Winfield-Hill (3), Tammy Beaumont (11)

BIG CHANCE! Finally, a false shot from the England openers. But it’s put down. Goswami gets Winfield-Hill driving, Mandhana cannot hang on to a low chance at first slip. It was ankle high for the Indian opener, she got down quickly enough but it didn’t stick. Slip catching in itself is a whole new ball game in Test cricket, a tough moment that for India.

First innings, England 14/0: Lauren Winfield-Hill (3), Tammy Beaumont (11)

Jhulan tries the surprise full ball to Beaumont after shortening the length a little bit. Well handled by the England opener. The first boundary of the match comes from the bat of Beaumont next over as she latches on to a short ball and pulls it away. She is starting to play more shots now. The over ends with a massive caught behind appeal as she got the ball to straighten after angling in. The rest of her teammates talk her down, good call on replay. Superb delivery though.

First innings, England 7/0 after 4 overs: Lauren Winfield-Hill (3), Tammy Beaumont (4)

A half appeal for LBW in Pandey’s over, but it is too high. Excellent lines from the Indian pacers, but the English openers are holding steady too.

Reminder: DRS is in place for the entirety of this series (which is also a multi-format points series like the Women’s Ashes). Three reviews per innings in this Test match.

First innings, England 1/0 after 2 overs: Not surprisingly, Shikha Pandey starts off with a huge inswinger. Winfield-Hill does well to cover the line. A maiden over.

First innings, England 1/0 after 1 over: Lauren Winfield-Hill and Tammy Beaumont are the openers. Hint of a movement from Jhulan in that over, nothing exaggerated. Shikha Pandey might get more though, she even brings the notoriously reticent white ball to move.

03.30 pm: 38 years young, Jhulan Goswami is playing a Test match again. She has the red ball in hand and will start off proceedings. What must be going through her mind, eh? Here w Go!

As we get ready for the match, here’s the preview by Zenia D’Cunha:

England vs India: A new challenge beckons as Mithali Raj and Co return to Test cricket after 2014

MILESTONE ALERT: It’s the 100th international match as captain for Heather Knight. What a leader she has been for England.

India’s XI: Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar

England XI: Heather Knight (C), Nat Sciver (VC), Tammy Beaumont , Katherine Brunt , Kate Cross, Sophia Dunkley , Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Amy Jones, Anya Shrubsole, Lauren Winfield-Hill

Here are the confirmed playing XIs:

Match info via BCCI:

• Venue: Bristol County Ground, Bristol
• Toss: England, who chose to bat
• Umpires: Chris Watts, Sue Redfern, Ian Gould, Sarah Bartlett
• Referee: David Jukes

And there are reports that Shafali Verma will be making her debut, as many thought she would. There would be a couple more debutants from India’s side as well. We should know soon.

Some early team news from the England camp...

Hello all. It’s an exciting day for Indian cricket.

The women’s senior national team return to a format that arguably every cricketer dreams about playing at the highest level. 2014 was the last time India played a Test match and it has taken seven years for them to play another. Whether it is the dawn of a new era or just a brief return (there is one more Test against Australia later), it is not easy to say. But what is certain is that the players have been excited about this match and so are many fans. And England at home is going to be as hard a challenge as it gets.

India’s Test squad: Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Indrani Roy (wicket-keeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav.

England (original untrimmed) Test squad: Heather Knight (C), Nat Sciver (VC), Emily Arlott, Tammy Beaumont , Katherine Brunt , Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley , Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Tash Farrant, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield-Hill