IND W vs ENG W: India declare second innings on 186/6, set England 479-run target

MUMBAI: India Women declared their second innings closed at the overnight score of 186/6, leaving England Women a target of 479 to chase in two days in the four-day one-off Test being played at the DY Patil Stadium here on Saturday.

The Indians declared their second innings with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur remaining not out on 44 off 67 balls and Pooja Vastrakar on 17 of4 41 balls. The duo had raised 53 runs for the unfinished seventh-wicket partnership that helped India recover from 133/6.

With skipper Harmanpreet Kaur batting on 44 overnight, it was expected that she would be allowed to achieve her maiden half-century. But India thinktank, it appears, thought it would be more useful to let the bowlers use the early morning assistance in the pitch to cause some damage in England's second innings.

With the Indian Women's team getting to play very few Tests, separated by huge gaps, Harmanpreet would have loved to have a half-century against her name as she had failed to achieve the feat in the first innings too as she was run out in unusual fashion at 49.

However, keeping the team's interest in mind, the skipper decided to forgo the chance. The injury to Shubha Satheesh, because of which she will not be able to bat in this innings, also seems one of the reasons for the Indian team management to declare the innings.