India-W vs England-W Test: Debutants Jemimah Rodrigues, Shubha Satheesh took hosts to 410/7 on Day 1

India-W vs England-W Test: Shubha Satheesh (69) and Jemimah Rodrigues (68) scored half-centuries on their Test debuts as their innings took India women's team to 410/7 on Day 1 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday (December 14).

India, who lost the T20 series to England earlier, were playing their first Test match in almost two years, took an aggressive approach against a strong visiting English team. Shubha shot 13 boundaries during her 76-ball stay on the crease while striking at a rate of 90-plus.

Shubha became the 12th batter from India to score fifty in her debut, but she was unable to turn that total into a century, which would have made her the first player in history to reach a century on her debut. After Sophie Ecclestone (1/85) captured her, she left with Nat Sciver-Brunt.

Jemimah, too, played with a knock worthy of her talent, hitting 11 fours in her 99 balls. Though she played one on to her wickets off Lauren Bell (2/64), the teenage batsman looked good for a three-figure score.

After the squad looked to be faltering after a fast start, Shubha and Jemimah added 115 runs for the third wicket to create a record, which helped set the tone for the hosts' dominance. For the third wicket in Test cricket, the partnership between the two is currently the second-highest.

On that particular day, the Indians came dangerously close to breaking multiple records, but they were not successful. India's captain Harmanpreet Kaur looked great early on, finishing a run with a sweep shot, but her stay was cut short when her bat got trapped in the dirt and Dani Wyatt's throw brought her out of the game.

Not only did Harmanpreet hit a career-high 49 off 81 balls with six fours, but she also shared the second-highest partnership for India in the format with her fifth-wicket stand of 116 runs, shared with Yastika Bhatia (66).

Yastika was quick to score runs, but she never seemed to be taking any chances. In addition to hitting 10 fours and the lone six of the innings, the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter was fluid on both sides of the wicket.

With Charlie Dean (1/62) at mid-on, Lauren missed a regular catch because Yastika (15) misplayed a sweep and the ball shot high into the air. Yastika also had to deal with a first-ever half-century in her second Test match, as Lauren made no mistakes when she took a second catch at the same location off the same bowler.

On a sweltering and muggy day, Deepti Sharma (60) and Sneh Rana (30) combined to cause England more anguish by contributing 92 runs for the seventh wicket, taking the hosts above the 400-run mark. However, India was far from finished.

Opportunities were scarce for England, who bowled 94 of a possible 100 overs. Their misfortune continued when a couple of edges sailed past their fielders and both DRS calls were unsuccessful. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, the Indian openers, got off to a confident start but both fell within 10 overs of scoring 25 runs.

India were quick out of the blocks and Mandhana (17 off 12 balls, 3x4s) hammered the wider deliveries, but Lauren's tactic to bring back her length caused the Indian opener to hack one on to her leg stump. The left-handed Mandhana found herself short of space when Lauren managed to get the ball to nip back into her, giving her an inside advantage.