Australia bowled out for their lowest Test score against India

39 years later women’s Test cricket returned to Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai when India and Australia locked horns against each other in the one-off Test. Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and elected to bat first. However, the visitors did not make the most of the opportunity as they were bundled out for 219 in 77.4 overs. India bowled out Australia for their lowest total against them in Test cricket.

Australia did not get off to the best of starts as they lost their opening batter Phoebe Litchfield (0) in the first over of the match. Litchfield was busy ball watching when her opening partner Beth Mooney hit one to the right of Jemimah Rodrigues standing at backward point. Rodrigues collected the ball cleanly and threw at wicket-keeper Yastika Bhatia, who did the rest. The Indians did not waste much time as they drew second blood in the second over as Pooja Vastrakar clean bowled Ellyse Perry (4) the most experienced Test cricketer in the Australian team, with a peach of an inswinging delivery.

After losing two wickets in quick succession, Mooney and Tahlia McGrath steadied the ship with an 80-run-partnership for the third wicket. McGrath was dropped on 18 by Deepti Sharma standing at second slip of Renuka Singh Thakur’s bowling. She made the Indians pay as she scored her third Test half-century. Getting out immediately after registering a 50 to Sneh Rana, McGrath was replaced by captain Alyssa Healy, who joined forces with Mooney (40). The Australians would have wanted Mooney and Healy to carry the innings but Vastrakar was successful in sending Mooney back to the pavilion. Though Healy looked good in her 75-ball stay scoring 38, she fell to Sharma. In the end, Kim Garth remained unbeaten on 28 to help her team go past the 200-run mark.

The Indian bowlers had a fantastic outing as they ran through the Australian batting line up with ease. Vastrakar was the pick of the bowlers as she claimed 4/53 registering her first four-wicket haul in Test matches. The off spinners Sharma and Rana chipped in with two and three wickets respectively.

After a heroic performance by the bowlers, it was time for the Indian batters to do their job. The opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma (40) provided a quick start stitching a 90-run partnership in just 100 balls. Though Mandhana rode her luck on a couple of occasions having scored two fours of inside edges that could have any day crashed on to the stumps, she looked solid otherwise. In the third last over of the day, Jess Jonassen, bowling her first over of the spell got through the defence of Verma to have her leg before wicket. To give company to Mandhana for the final 14 balls of the day came Rana. She got off the mark with a classic cover drive and remained unbeaten on 4 at the end of the day’s play. Having piled up 98, India trail by 121 runs.