India vs England: Heather Knight says her side were challenged by 'super extreme' conditions
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England captain Heather Knight says she is "philosophical" about her side's 347-run defeat by India
England were challenged by "super extreme" conditions in their Test defeat by India, says captain Heather Knight.
England were bowled out for 136 and 131 in the dramatic 347-run defeat in Mumbai.
Off-spinner Deepti Sharma took nine wickets in the match with her off-spin, while seamer Pooja Vastrakar took 3-23 in an impressive spell on day three.
"There are plenty of learnings we can take from this," said Knight.
"In the main formats we play, which are in white-ball cricket, you're not often exposed to conditions like this.
"It was super extreme and I'll be surprised if we play in something like this again unless we play a Test match here in the near future."
In total, 23 out of 36 wickets fell to spin throughout the Test; Charlie Dean led the way for England with five in the match while seamer Lauren Bell also impressed with her 3-67 in India's first innings.
India posted 428 after batting first, with four players reaching half-centuries, while Nat Sciver-Brunt was the only player to pass fifty with her 59 in England's first innings.
None of Knight's side have played a Test match in India previously, while only Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur from India's side have played a home Test.
Knight admitted to being "outplayed" but despite the significant margin of victory, she says they are staying "philosophical" about the result.
"If we had another Test match after this, we would have learned a lot," said Knight.
"But the pitch deteriorated quicker than we thought it would. It was a lot easier to bat on first, and then India bowled outstandingly well and showed us how to play in these conditions.
"When they batted, they showed us how to get the right balance between attack and defence and put the pressure back on our bowlers. They suited these conditions and executed their plans."
However, while some batters, including Knight and Sciver-Brunt, were undone by very good bowling in England's second innings, both collapses also included several loose shots and a lack of clarity in the tourists' approach.
In their first innings, batters were going back in their crease uncertainly against the spinners, and in the second innings there were also cross-batted shots against the turning ball and indecisive footwork against the seam.
Women's Tests are not a regular occurrence in the cricket calendar. England and Australia play the most in international cricket, though that is usually only a maximum of two a year.
Their infrequency makes it difficult for players' preparation but Knight added that the shorter format is England's focus, with the T20 World Cup taking place in Bangladesh in 2024 where they will be faced with similar conditions.
"The T20 series win was brilliant for us," said Knight. "Our side in that format is coming together really nicely and we were able to expose some of our young players to these conditions.
"Our main cricket coming up is white-ball cricket - that's what we are prepping for mostly - so that was really pleasing for us.
"Playing a red-ball game in isolation is quite tricky - the girls from the T20 series only had two days to prepare. I think that's why we're quite philosophical about losing the Test match.
"Obviously we were desperate to win it and play well but India massively outplayed us."