With Indian women’s team playing out a hard-fought draw against England in the four-day Test at Bristol, skipper Mithali Raj believes the home side would be on the backfoot going into the limited-overs series.

After being asked to follow-on, the visitors were on the brink of defeat with 8 wickets down for 240 runs. However, debutants Sneh Rana (80 not out) and Taniya Bhatia (44 not out) scripted a stunning fightback, sharing an unbeaten 104-run stand for the 9th wicket to secure a memorable draw.

"Psychologically I think it's a big boost and will definitely put England on backfoot because they know that even though the main batters have not performed, the lower middle order stood up," Mithali said at the post-match virtual conference.

"The Indian batting line up is deep now and it's not just the top-order. The lower middle order also can bat and put in match-winning partnerships," she added.

Featuring in her maiden red-ball match, teen batting sensation Shafali Verma also left a lasting impression on everyone, registering scores of 96 and 63 across the two innings.

India will now face England in three ODIs and as many T20Is.

"I think that's a great way to start a series where you know from a situation where we were literally looking at a Test mach loss, and from there we've come to a draw, that clearly shows that the girls are not ready to give up and they are ready to fight.

"That's something we're trying to build in our team environment and that's something we try and take it forward from here, so that the team grows from strength to strength, just not in one format, but each time we take the field," Mithali said.

Later this year, Indian women’s team will also take on Australia in a day-night Test at the WACA and Mithali feels the match against England augurs well for them.

"These girls have shown even with lack of practice with the red ball and the longer format, they stood up and performed. I think confidence is what we will be carrying into the next Tests. I know it's a pink ball Test but preparation will be equally important.

"Having said that, the mental space that these young girls are in after today's performance will have a very positive impact, moving into a longer format for the coming Pink Ball Test," she remarked.

(With PTI inputs)