India Women vs Australia, Only Test: India beat Australia in the only Test played at Wankhede by 8 wickets Mumbai Test: Chief Architects of India's win.
Coming from a dominant victory against England in the white ball cricket just a week prior, the India Women’s team were riding high on confidence and exuded self-belief and poise on the field against a much tougher opponent, Australia, in the One-Off test played at the Wankhede stadium. The victory was an overall collective effort, with India outplaying Australia in every department of the game and emerging as the better of the two teams on the field, resulting in an astounding 8-wicket victory.
Here are the chief architects of the history-making victory of the India eves over the mighty Aussies:
Pooja Vastrakar (5/93 & 47)
Pooja Vastrakar played a significant role in India’s victory over Australia by providing early breakthroughs to shift the momentum in India’s favour. She claimed the important wicket of Ellyse Perry. India got off to a dream start with Perry and Phoebe Litchfield gone within the first two overs.
Australia recovered from the early jolts with a significant 80-run partnership between Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath. The duo’s fall swung the momentum back in India’s favour with Pooja dismissing the experienced Mooney to put Australia on the back foot.
Later on in the first innings, she ripped through a strong Australia lower middle order, dismissing Annabelle Sutherland and Ashleigh Gardener to deny chances of a comeback. It was because of Pooja’s breathtaking spell of 4/53 assisted by a dominant bowling spell from Sneh Rana that Australia was restricted to a paltry score of 219.
She played an important knock of 47 and stitched a vital 122-run partnership with Deepti Sharma to further solidify and extend India’s lead in the first innings. She continued to be in rhythm and dismissed Gardener in the first over of the last day to quash Australia’s chances of heading towards a draw.
It’s because of Pooja’s exquisite bowling spells providing early breakthroughs in the session and a significant knock with the bat displaying her dual prowess that India marched on to the path towards a resounding victory.
Read More: India Women brush aside England Women by 347 runs in Navi Mumbai Test: Chief Architects of the win
Sneh Rana (3/56 & 4/63)
Adjudged the Player of the Match, Sneh Rana proved to be the vital cog for India as she delivered a stellar performance with the ball. India, however, clawed its way back just in time as Rana broke the crucial 80-run stand between Mooney and McGrath to gain an upper hand in the first session on the first day, dismissing McGrath on 50. She wreaked havoc on the Australian batting order claiming 3 wickets to limit Australia’s score to 219 in the first innings.
Her bowling mojo continued in the second innings where she claimed a four-wicket haul which didn’t allow Australia a comprehensive lead. The Aussies were bundled out on a score of 261 handing a mere 75-run target to be chased down by India on the final day. Her sublime bowling spells in both innings helped seal India’s triumph.
Smriti Mandhana (74 & 38*)
Shrugging off the failure of having a not-so-good outing with the bat against England, Smriti Mandhana mended her way back in the game against Australia. India got off to a flier in the first innings as both openers - Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma - stitched a 90-run stand before the latter’s dismissal. Mandhana looked in good nick with her exquisite timing and shot-selection. She played a vital knock of 74 in the first innings. Her flawless knock ended with a run-out after a horrible confusion with her partner on the crease, Richa Ghosh.
Mandhana finished it for India on the final day as she shimmied down the track to hit a boundary over Jess Jonassen’s head to seal the win. She remained unbeaten on 38 while chasing a target of 75.
Read More: India Women gear up for the red ball challenge with Tests against England & Australia in December
Deepti Sharma (2/45 & 78)
Deepti Sharma has continued with the same form against Australia as she left off against England. Brimming with confidence, Deepti started well with the ball in the first innings, taking two important wickets to put a dent on Australia’s batting progression.
She came in to bat at number eight and steadied India’s batting just when Australia got a little sniff into the game following skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Yastika Bhatia’s dismissals in quick successions. She contributed with a vital 78 runs knock and gelled a 122-run 8th wicket stand with Pooja Vastrakar to propel the team to a formidable total of 406.
Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana at the top, Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle order, Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar in the lower order– they all made significant contributions as India took a 187-run lead in the first innings, laying the foundation for the victory.
The Indian women’s cricket team have ended the consecutive test match series on a high note with two back-to-back victories against formidable opponents within a week. Such a dominant performance and an all-around show put forth by all the departments will instill a lot of confidence and positivity in India’s camp. This victory signifies India’s prowess in the realm of women’s Test cricket.
India will next face Australia in a 3-match ODI series to be played from 28th December onwards in the Wankhede stadium.
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