Forced to follow on, India Women 29/1 at lunch on Day 3
Bristol: India Women were left with a mountain to climb in the one-off Test against England as they were forced to follow on after being shot out for 231 in their first innings during the morning session of the third day here on Friday.
After a dramatic collapse on the second day on Thursday, India's batting woes continued as they lost five wickets for the addition of just 44 runs in 21.2 overs, undoing the tremendous effort by 17-year-old Shafali verma (96) and Smriti Mandhana (78).
Debutants Deepti Sharma (29 not out) and Pooja Vastrakar (12) put up a 33-run stand for the ninth wicket but could not save the team from follow on in response to England's first innings of 396 for 9 declared.
Trailing by 165 runs, India were 29 for 1 at lunch after Mandhana was dismissed for 8. India still trail by 136 runs with nine second innings wickets in hand.
Debutant Verma was batting beautifully on 20 off just 14 balls, with the help of 5 boundaries.
The Indian batters struggled in their first innings against the England spin duo of Sophie Ecclestone (4/88), who was the main tormentor, and Heather Knight (2/7) for most part before pacers Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole took the last two wickets.
India scored their first runs of the day after 20 balls and by then had lost two wickets including the crucial one of vice captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
Harmanpreet was out after an England review in the second over of the day without adding anything to her overnight score of four. She was ruled leg before off Ecclestone.
Tanya Bhatia fell two overs later without disturbing the scorer after facing six balls. She too was dismissed by Ecclestone, who then dismissed Sneh Rana (2) with a turning delivery to reduce India to 197 for 8.
England took the new ball after 80 overs and the Indian first innings ended 1.2 overs after that with the dismissal of Pooja Vastrakar (12) and Jhulan Goswami.
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Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
