Sophie Ecclestone is enjoying a fight with Shafali Verma as England & India prepare to face off on the final day of their one-off Test in Bristol.
England's left-arm spinner & world number one T20I bowler Ecclestone took three wickets overnight as the home team enforced a follow-on by bowling India out for 231 in the first innings.
But Verma, the No. 1-ranked T20I batsman in the world, was India's star to run for the second day, scoring 92 not out with an unbeaten 55 after his first Test innings of 92 for his team at 83 for 1 on the third day. ended. , still 82 runs behind.
She was joined by another India debutant Deepti Sharma, who remained unbeaten on 18 after opener Smriti Mandhana was dismissed for 8 off the last ball before lunch, a wicket Ecclestone described as "important".
"It's always interesting when Shafali & I match in any format of the game," said Ecclestone. “When it comes to T20s I think she is really high class so it is really interesting to bowl to her.
"You never know what's going to happen to her, you never know if you are going to burst on top or she's going to miss one, so it's really interesting to bowl to her & it's a pretty good competition for me." "
Ecclestone juggled the wickets of Harmanpreet Kaur, Tania Bhatia & Sneh Rana as they took 3 for 9 in the space of 21 balls in the morning session, before seamers Katherine Brunt & Anya Shrubsole cleaned the tail, Brunt did Pooja Claimed the wicket of Vastrakar. Delivery of the day, pitching on the leg-stump & taking the top off.
As Verma produced yet another display of impeccable timing & strokeplay in India's second innings, Ecclestone bowled six tight overs, conceding just 12 runs, including just one four, as Verma hit him over mid-off. .
At the end of the game, Ecclestone revealed a bit of his mindset while trying to get Verma out.
"I think I bowl my best & change my pace so when I come into a Test match it's like trying to bowl my best ball long, but when Shafali bats I think try & use the ball of my arm a few times & change my pace, then just change it up a little bit," Ecclestone said.
"When Shafali's batting I always want to win the fight, of course I don't want her to be the one on me. I always look forward to competing against her, yes, I'm always trying to get her out first . She hits me some six."
The rain, which was predicted ahead of the match, brought an element of disappointment for England as it gave India valuable time. Play continued with a very light drizzle until the lunch break, but was set for tea drinking a few minutes earlier as part of a revised schedule due to earlier disruptions.
"It's very frustrating when we can't actually take wickets," said Ecclestone. "The ball isn't doing much in wet conditions, so it's not really ideal for all of us & fast bowlers in particular tend to get frustrated.
"So I guess it's just trying to hold our guns & basically not crack first, whoever breaks through will obviously lose the fight.
"We were really positive going back on the field, not getting too ahead of ourselves, we needed to stay calm & be patient there. We knew they were going to play a long game when they came out to bat Were.
"It was good for memory to get the first wicket quite early. We hope to keep fighting tomorrow," he said.
Reflecting on the collapse of India's first innings, after being all out at 0 to 231 from 167, Mandhana suggested the visitors "thrown away" their wickets but would be focused on saving the game on Saturday.
"I wouldn't say they are not great [spinners]. Sophie Ecclestone is currently the world's No. 1 spinner [in T20Is]," Mandhana said. "Nothing to take away from him. He bowled well. But the balls weren't good enough to get out, so I think we threw our wickets [away] - all of us. That's the only discussion [focus] to do] .
"We need to play to our strengths, not think about this opportunity. It will really help to perform better & just try to get used to the conditions. First innings is done. Second innings - we have Tomorrow is the big day."