London, July 11 (IANS) India struck four times in a sensational opening session through medium-pacer Kranti Gaud and Sayali Satghare before Sneh Rana dismissed Amy Jones on the stroke of lunch to leave England at 137/5 in 40 overs, still trailing by 148 runs, on the second day of the one-off Women’s Test at Lord’s on Saturday.

order inside the opening half hour and firmly seize control before England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones engineered a spirited recovery.

Gaud, who had dismissed Tammy Beaumont late on the opening evening, wasted little time in adding to her tally. Operating with excellent control from the Nursery End, she induced an outside edge from the overnight-set Maia Bouchier, who was caught behind by Richa Ghosh after making 23. The dismissal ended a cautious 30-run second-wicket partnership and handed India the breakthrough they desperately sought.

Sayali Satghare then joined the act in the very next over. Heather Knight, who had survived an lbw scare on the opening day, could not escape this time as Satghare produced a delivery that jagged back sharply from a good length to trap the former England captain plumb in front. Knight reviewed immediately, but ball-tracking showed the delivery clipping the leg stump, reducing England to 38/3.

England’s hopes of rebuilding suffered another setback when debutant Alice Capsey briefly looked positive before Gaud produced the morning’s delivery. After consistently shaping the ball into the right-hander, Gaud surprised Capsey with one that held its line before moving away just enough to beat the outside edge and crash into the off stump.

The superb piece of seam bowling left England reeling at 47/4 inside the opening 18 overs.

With four wickets down and still facing a substantial first-innings deficit, England desperately needed resistance from their experienced pair of Sciver-Brunt and Jones. The duo responded with positive intent, refusing to allow India’s bowlers to dictate terms entirely.

Jones counterattacked whenever the bowlers erred in length, driving confidently through the off side and pulling anything short, while Sciver-Brunt gradually settled before unfurling her trademark sweep shots against the spinners. Their partnership gathered momentum after the drinks break, bringing up fifty together as England crossed the 100-run mark.

India introduced spin early through Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, and Test debutant N Sree Charani, who consistently challenged both batters with attacking fields featuring close-in catchers. Rana repeatedly beat Sciver-Brunt with a sharp turn outside off, while Charani mixed flight and pace effectively despite Jones capitalising on a few overpitched deliveries.

Jones reached a well-compiled half-century off just 59 deliveries, becoming one of England Women’s quickest Test fifty-makers. She celebrated the milestone with a raised bat to warm applause from the Lord’s crowd after guiding England out of immediate danger alongside her captain.

Sciver-Brunt also shifted gears after settling in, launching Charani over deep midwicket for the first six of England’s innings before confidently rotating the strike. Together, the pair added 84 valuable runs for the fifth wicket and significantly reduced India’s early advantage.

However, India ensured they finished the session on top. Just four deliveries before lunch, Rana produced the breakthrough by extracting turn and bounce from a teasing length. Jones, rooted to the crease while attempting a defensive stroke, inside-edged onto her pad, with the ball looping gently to Richa Ghosh at short leg, who completed a straightforward catch to end an enterprising knock of 52 off 62 balls.

Nat Sciver-Brunt remained unbeaten on 39 at the interval, while debutant Mady Villiers survived the closing overs to guide England safely to lunch. Despite the valuable fifth-wicket stand, England still face a sizeable deficit and will rely heavily on their captain and lower order to narrow India’s first-innings lead in the afternoon session.

Brief scores:

India 285 all out in 74.5 overs (Smriti Mandhana 83, Harmanpreet Kaur 58, Deepti Sharma 57; Sophie Ecclestone 3-68, Issy Wong 2-41) lead England 137/5 in 40 overs (Amy Jones 52, Nat Sciver-Brunt 39 not out; Kranti Gaud 3-25, Sneh Rana 1-35) by 148 runs.

–IANS

vi/bsk/