MUMBAI: 'One day more. One day more. Another day, another destiny.' That's how the act 1 of Les Misérables ends, with every character singing the tunes. The feeling must be the same in India and England camps ahead of the one-off Test at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
It's a momentous occasion, for India will play their first home Test since 2014, while England take the field for the 100th time in the format — the first by any nation. Such is the rarity of women's Tests that Harmanpreet Kaur, who made her international cricket debut in 2009, will get the chance to lead the side for the very first time. "Butterflies are always there, no matter how much you have played. There is always excitement and nervousness when you go to the ground. When you play one ball, you get involved in the game. Last Test I missed because of injury, and this time, there is an opportunity to lead the team," Kaur said on the eve of the game.
Heather Knight has the experience of leading her side in six Tests, but none of her teammates have ever played a red-ball fixture in the subcontinent. "We have got a few players who have played a few Test matches but obviously none have played red-ball cricket in the subcontinent. We've played a lot of cricket in India and at DY Patil Stadium. How the pitch will change is a bit of an unknown. It's an exciting challenge, isn't it? It will be interesting to see how we change our game to combat that," the England captain added.
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Looking at the pitch, both captains mentioned that it will come in handy for spinners. For India, Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, and Sneh Rana could play a vital role. Given India has to play two Tests in 15 days, it's going to be tricky for the management. Rana, who performed exceptionally well with the bat last time these two teams faced each other, could play a big role in Navi Mumbai as well. Jemimah Rodrigues with the bat and Renuka Singh Thakur with the ball have shown enough maturity over the years and might be rewarded for that with their debut caps.
With the very little time both teams have got to practice, it will be interesting to see how well they adapt to the conditions. At the same time, both teams have spoken about how they want to go for the result. "It's all about adapting as a player to Test cricket. The last few Test matches we've played, we've had a very clear plan on how we want to go about things. That's all towards wanting to win the Test as well but it's also about staying true to how we play," Knight mentioned.
Both teams haven't won a Test match in the longest time. They would want to change that in Navi Mumbai. There might not be any points attached to this match, but a good Test will add memories to both sides and those who are watching. And both captains are eager for that.
