India women fighting back to avoid defeat

BRISTOL: Indian women put up a fight for survival, taking a 78-run lead as they reached 243/8 wickets at tea on the fourth and final day of the one-off Test against England here on Saturday.

After Deepti Sharma (54 off 168), opener Shafali Verma (63 off 83), and Punam Raut (39 off 104) had provided a strong platform for India, following on, the middle-order crumbled. India lost four wickets for 24 runs to be reduced to 199/7 from 171/3 and be in danger of losing the match before the tea break.

However, a 41-run partnership in just under 17 overs between Sneh Rana (batting 27 off 63 balls) and Shikha Pandey (18 off 50 balls) helped India stretch England.

Brief scores (Day 4, tea): England: 396/9 dec; India: 231 and 243/8 (S Verma 63, D Sharma 54, Sneh Rana batting 27, Taniya Bhatia 3 batting, P Raut 39, S Ecclestone 4/83). IANS

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