Women’s Test cricket returns to Wankhede Stadium after 39 years as India and Australia face off

Indian women’s cricket seems to be on a roll with the national team getting the opportunity to play back-to-back Tests. India played a one-off Test against England at Dr D Y Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai and registered an emphatic 347-run win. It was also India women’s first win against England in Tests on home soil.

Harmanpreet Kaur and co. will carry a lot of confidence with them from that win as they take on Australia next. India have not won a single Test against Australia and perhaps this could be their best chance to secure one as the team is well-prepared to play the longest format of the game.

 

Squads

Australia: Alyssa Healy (captain, wicket-keeper), Tahlia McGrath (vice captain), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle, Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar

 

Head-to-Head

India and Australia have played 10 Tests against each other, of which Australia have won four and six matches have ended in a draw. India have never won a Test match against Australia. The last time these two teams met was in 2021 at Carrara. Though the match ended in a draw, India scored 377 in the first innings, which was the highest total in any India-Australia women’s Test.

 

Players to watch out for

Jemimah Rodrigues: The Mumbai batter made her Test debut against England last week. Playing in front of her home crowd, the right-handed batter top-scored with 95 runs in two innings, including a half-century. She looked at ease against the spinners and pacers of England. She also ran hard between the wickets. Besides, she had a good outing on the fielding standing at short leg or silly point.

Deepti Sharma: This Indian all-rounder had a memorable outing against England in the recently held Test match at Dr D Y Patil Sports Academy. The off spinner snapped nine wickets, including a fifer and a four-fer to become the leading wicket-taker in the Test. She also scored 87 runs in two innings, including a half-century.

Ellyse Perry: This Australian all-rounder is the senior-most player in the team with 11 Tests under her belt. She has scored 876 runs, including an unbeaten double century and has 38 wickets to her name. In her last Test against England played in June 2023, the right-handed top-order batter scored 124 and picked one wicket, bowling right arm medium pace.

Ashleigh Gardner: The 26-year-old Australian is a match winner in any format of the game. She won the player of the match award in her last Test against England. The right-handed middle order batter muscled 41 runs and scalped 12 wickets bowling off spin. She will play an important role, especially with the ball, as the match progresses and the pitch starts to wear out.

 

Pitch and conditions

The venue has hosted just the one women’s Test. It was way back in 1984 between India and Australia. The match ended in a draw. Recently, the ground hosted India-England women’s T20Is. The pitches at Wankhede Stadium are red soiled. Usually red soil pitches offer slow and low bounce, which are ideal for spinners. However, the first hour of play every morning will provide assistance to the fast bowlers, given the cool and breezy conditions. Batters will have to spend time at the crease as the runs will not come easy.

 

Weather

The weather is expected to see sun and areas of high clouds. The maximum temperature during the day will be 34 degrees Celsius. There will be 81% cloud cover and 1% chance of rain. The wind will blow from north-northeast.

 

Milestone Alert

Ellyse Perry needs 124 runs to complete 1000 Test runs and 12 wickets to complete 50 Test wickets

 

Match Details

Date: December 21-24, 2023

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Time: 9.30am

Streaming: Jio Cinema