Both the Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams were in action on Saturday. While Virat Kohli and company battled New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Mithali Raj‘s team faced England in a one-off Test. 

Virat Kohli came out to bat when the team lost both the openers within two overs. India were 63/2. However, the skipper and Cheteshwar Pujara prevented any further stumble as the two batted patiently for 16 overs. Pujara’s first run came on his 35th ball at the crease. Kohli, on the other hand, played with an attacking stance, nudging around for easy runs. Pujara was dismissed for eight runs. India were reduced to 88/3.

The captain then along with his deputy, Ajinkya Rahane, added 58 runs before the umpires called off play on Day 2. Virat Kohli (44 runs off 124 balls) was praised to put up a steely show with 93% control on a pitch that offered movement to seamers. 

Also read: Virender Sehwag wants Shane Warne to frame tweet about ‘understanding spin’

However, the spotlight didn’t remain on Kohli for long – an unusual occurrence. It was 17-year-old Shafali Verma and debutant Sneh Rana who stole his show with stunning performances at Bristol. 

Playing Heather Knight’s ruthless England, the Indian team were on the verge of a loss as they started the second innings with a 165-run deficit. The visitors had to bat for the whole day to score an unlikely win or salvage a draw. However, after a middle-order collapse, they were 175/5 with about 60 more overs still left to survive.  England could smell an easy victory.

Also read: WTC final: India wear black arm-bands to honour Milkha Singh

Number 8 Sneh Rana came to bat when India were 199/7. However, the 27-year-old who last played an international match in 2016, played 154 balls and scored 80 runs to guide India to a relieving draw. Rana and No 10 Taniya Bhatia (44*) shared 144 runs for the unbroken ninth wicket as they frustrated England bowlers for 30.4 overs.

Rana’s innings made her the first player from the Indian women’s team to score a 50 and take a 4-wicket haul on debut. Her score of 80* is the highest by an Indian women’s player batting at No 6 or lower. 

Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma also made their debuts. Verma scored 96 and 63 in the two innings respectively and Sharma scored a half-century in the first. Shafali Verma was the adjudged player of the match.

These match-saving innings by the debutants, especially Rana, came when the side’s most senior players – Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur – scored a combined 18 runs in 59 balls faced in both innings. India managed to survive the day at 344/8 and manage a draw.