England take charge, Shafali Verma fights back and rain curtails third day... ENGLAND V INDIA TALKING POINTS

NICK FRIEND AT BRISTOL looks back on the key moments from the third day of the one-off Test between England and India

Indian collapse leaves England poised

When Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana were in full flow on the second afternoon at Bristol, England knew they were in a game – and for a very long time to come, by the way, India will possess one of international cricket’s most watchable opening pairs: they caressed, stroked, scythed and swung with majestic abandon.

Ultimately, it was batter error rather than bowler genius that shifted this game in the direction of the hosts. Verma lives by the sword and so her demise was always likely to come in such a manner, attempting to reach a remarkable debut hundred by depositing Kate Cross over the apartment complex.

Mandhana’s dismissal to a similar stroke was more difficult to explain and precipitated the carnage that followed. The left-hander so often exudes languid tranquillity, but when she hacked to mid-on, India were left rudderless and collapsed in a heap.

All told, they lost 10 for 64, watching their final five wickets fall in 20 overs on Friday for an addition of just 44 runs, leading to a 165-run deficit and an invitation from Heather Knight to bat again, with enforcing the follow-on the only viable option, given an ever-changing weather forecast and the likelihood of an aborted third day coming to pass shortly before the scheduled tea break, when the players left the field and never returned.

At one point in the morning, however, when Taniya Bhatia was trapped in front by Sophie Ecclestone – two balls after the same fate had befallen Harmanpreet Kaur – India had tumbled from 167 without loss to 187 for 7.

^{One of those days...}

On Ecclestone’s part, this was the best she had bowled in the match, having struggled for her usual consistency on Thursday when Verma attacked and Mandhana’s left-handedness meant that she was unable to settle into a rhythm.

Her haul meant that England are in control of the game’s remainder, at least once the weather abates on Saturday, with India now simply battling to save a draw as their first Test in seven years enters the weekend, with 108 overs due to be bowled to make up for the time lost to a frustrating, persistent drizzle that curtailed proceedings three hours earlier than the anticipated cut-off.

India – and their captain, Mithali Raj – will look back with a sense of exasperation at their plight. Quite simply, it didn’t need to be this way; the platform set by their openers should have ruled out even the prospect of a follow-on, while they had scored quickly enough in their partnership that surpassing England’s total was not beyond the realms of possibility, not least with plenty of batting to come – the luxury of Deepti Sharma coming to the crease at No.7 was such that she was promoted to No.3 second time around to provide a solid, left-handed foil for Verma, whose stock continues to rise.

But the teenager apart, England were mostly dominant. It was only Sharma’s 29 that dragged India close to 247 – the magic number that would avoid the follow-on, while an exploratory over of leg-spin from Sophia Dunkley provided the only let-up in a morning of otherwise tight bowling. Indeed, the delivery from Katherine Brunt that dismissed Pooja Vastrakar was wasted on a No.10 of limited repute.

Only five of India’s batters survived more than 16 deliveries and once Mandhana fell, there were just eight boundaries in the next 27 overs. Heather Knight, in her part-time role as England’s second spinner, conceded just seven runs in 11 overs of off-spin – a spell that featured 63 dot-balls and just three scoring strokes.

Once the dust settles on the frustration of an afternoon spent watching a never-ending mizzle – time used by England’s players to play Mario Kart in their dressing room – Knight will turn her attention to the more pressing matter of tomorrow. The task is simple: nine wickets and, depending on how quickly they come, a run-chase.

That is a thing of great beauty from Katherine Brunt 😍#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/GJRGyIB104

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) June 18, 2021

Verma fights back

That India were able to launch a fightback thereafter, having been asked to bat again, was once again down to Verma, a thrilling star almost too talented for words. The hardy souls who braved a bitterly cold Gloucestershire day deserved the fillip of watching Verma strutting her stuff.

She unfurled an array of cover drives against Katherine Brunt, one of which defied description, with her feet seemingly nowhere but her hands able to direct an away-swinger into a gap and away to the boundary.

Her half century was dripping in inevitability and came as no surprise when it arrived – a knock of startling maturity that was mainly chanceless barring a single outside edge that fell short of first slip immediately after Amy Jones had come up to the stumps to prevent Verma from walking at Kate Cross.

England will want to see the back of her sharpish. The neutrals, meanwhile, would happily watch her all day.

India remain 82 runs behind. England need nine wickets. The early Friday finish means 108 overs will be bowled on Saturday. Weather permitting, this might just have an enthralling ending.