File photo of Mithali Raj.
Indian women’s team captain Mithali Raj Said that the decision to call off the one-off Test against England with 12 overs remaining on the final day on 19 June was something that took him by surprise, as the captains of both teams wanted to continue playing.
Powered by a gritty unbeaten 80 by debutant Sneh Rana and his unfinished 104-run partnership for the ninth wicket Tania Bhatia (44 not out), India stole a draw in the only women’s Test against England on 19 June.
After Shikha Pandey was dismissed, Sneh and Tania bowed down and batted for 30.4 overs to save the Test for India.
Though no result was possible, Mithali wondered how the match could have been canceled without her knowledge.
“We wanted to continue the game and we informed the opposite captain and he continued,” Mithali was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo on Saturday.
“But then I was told by Sneh Rana because I was also on the back foot when I saw the bails coming out and they were going out. So I asked him what happened and he said it was a bad light call by the umpire ..
“It was told to them. But then I saw that the teams were congratulating (each other), so the umpires said that since both the teams are congratulating, the match is over. That’s what Sneh Rana told me So that’s what happened,” Mithali said.
However, England captain Heather Knight said the message could not be conveyed to Mithali as she could not be found.
“It became clear to us that it was going to end in a draw, so we asked the Indian team to join hands. We couldn’t really find Mithali, so I think eventually we got a message back called We had to move. But, that was fine.
“And then the umpires took us off for bad light and then the Indians came and shook our hands. So that’s what happened,” Heather said.
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