Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper, feels that India’s outstanding fielding effort was the biggest plus and helped to set the stage for their dominant performance in the one-off Test match against England at the DY Patil Stadium, even though they won by a record margin of 347 runs, dominating both with bat and ball.

“We made the runs we wanted to make, and the bowlers supported us in every way.” “They were aware of their plans,” she added before adding, “The most significant positive for our team is our fielding.” It is critical to sustain energy when fielding for 90-plus overs, which we did. Everything else fell into place after the fielding established the tone.”

The Indian players, in contrast to England, who claimed the pitch’s spin-friendly nature for their batting difficulties, adapted well to the circumstances, and from the first day onwards, they dominated both with bat and ball. Before this match, Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, had only played three Test matches in her career. She attributed the success of the preparations to head coach Amol Muzumdar, a legend in domestic cricket.

“You get a sense of how the wicket is behaving when you’re batting.” When I batted in both innings, I got a sense of the wicket, which balls were working in various positions, and which fields would be most beneficial. This is when the coach’s knowledge came in handy. I had no red ball captaincy expertise, so I put my trust in him to make important decisions like bringing Shubha in to bat one down or the bowling schemes. Even today, the first 40 minutes were critical, and he believed we should capitalize on the morning conditions here, which we achieved. His (Amol Muzumdar’s) experience was extremely beneficial to us.”

She also praised the bowlers for following the game plan and working well with the ‘funky’ field placements.  “We worked out our field placements according to balls that might work against certain batters,” the Indian captain said.

“We get that feeling when we bat.” And congrats to our bowlers for adapting to the fields we were laying out and following the game plan. We do it occasionally only to play mind games with the opponent. We recognized that England planned to sweep against the offspinner, so we retained the short square leg for that phase, making that strategy tough for them. After all, they must bowl in the proper regions and carry out their plans.”

She also rationalized her choice to declare the Indian innings at 186 for 6, missing out on the chance to register her maiden Test fifty.

The Indian captain came into the game having scored only 38 runs in her previous three Tests. In the first innings, she was removed just short of the half-century mark after getting her bat trapped at the crease while attempting to recover. Her undefeated 44 in the second innings was crucial in keeping India’s innings on track.

“When I head out to bat, my priority is to put the team in a good position.” I’ve never been one to obsess with personal achievements. However, good individual results go a long way toward assuring we develop confidence.”

“At the same time, when we batted second, we were looking for a 500-run lead, which gave us extra safety in terms of runs, and then we tried harder.” We were unfortunate to lose early wickets in the second innings. We were still in a good position. So it was suggested to set aside individual milestones and focus on what works best for the team. It was more crucial than our batting to give the bowlers those 40 minutes in the morning to make the best of the circumstances… So we welcomed that plan.”