Bristol, Jun 20 (IANS): The Indian women's cricket team was flooded with messages of appreciation after it drew the one-off Test against England here, with former cricketers like Venkatesh Prasad, Wasim Jaffer and VVS Laxman, among others, congratulating the Mithali Raj-led side for its efforts.

Powered by a gritty unbeaten 80 by debutant Sneh Rana and her unfinished 104-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Taniya Bhatia (44 not out), India stole a draw on Saturday.

Shafali Verma was declared the Player of the Match for her 96 and 63 in the Test. Shafali and Sneh were among the five debutants that India fielded in this Test match.

"A brilliant effort by the Indian girls to save the test match. Absolutely loved the resilience shown by Sneh Rana and earlier by Deepti Sharma. Shafali Verma certainly has a bright future ahead of her. Well done @BCCIWomen, this is one to remember for a long time," wrote former India batsman Laxman after the hard-fought draw.

"Take a bow @BCCIWomen. That was a phenomenal performance!! This draw is no less than a win. That partnership from Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia showed the character of this team. Well done," wrote India's domestic cricket legend Wasim Jaffer, who went on to play 31 Tests for the country and scored a double-hundred.

Former India women's team coach W.V. Raman wrote, "Player of the Match is @TheShafaliVerma at the age of 17 on debut. Congratulations Shafali. We may see her doing in women's cricket what Viv Richards did from the 70s to 90s."

Former India women's team player Anjum Chopra, who is now a commentator, wrote, "Very nice to see the resolve shown by these two Indian batters- Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia. @BCCIWomen #INDWvsENGW #Bristol."