On December 22, on the second day of the one-off Test against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium, India established absolute control with a batting performance reminiscent of a classic Test match. Four batters’ fifty-fifty scores and two century performances either side of a delay in the second session propelled them to 376/6 at Stumps, where they held the lead by 157 runs.
It was not in India’s comprehension that they would have an even more successful day of Test cricket on Thursday than they did yesterday following their loss of the toss against the greatest team in the circuit. Having reduced Australia’s total by 98 runs, their continued success today hinged on their performance in the opening session.
In this context, they were able to savor the ideal hour, or 55 minutes, as Smriti Mandhana composedly approached her third fifty in Test cricket. Despite Ashleigh Gardner, who was by far the best player in Australia, consistently caused difficulty for both Mandhana and Sneh Rana, a breakthrough was not achieved. India also exploited the visitors’ most beneficent moments; for instance, Tahlia McGrath’s consecutive misfields off two deliveries that both went for boundaries, enabling the hosts to trim substantial portions of the deficit.
Gardner, appropriately, delivered the initial strike for Australia when she prevented Rana from crossing the boundary on a delivery that jolted her stumps. Australia was subsequently able to respond, thanks to an error in communication between Richa Ghosh and Mandhana that led to the latter being dismissed for 74.
After establishing herself in the top order during her début, Jemimah Rodrigues and Ghosh formed a partnership with the intention of reconstructing India’s innings. India proceeded to lunch without incurring any additional losses, having reduced their opponents’ first-innings total of 219 runs to within 57 runs.
After the lunch break, the partnership flourished, highlighted by their shrewd movement between the wickets and their decision to sweep the spinners off the stumps. Both batsmen reached fifty runs, and India had taken a commanding lead when Australia displayed their renowned recovery prowess.
Kim Garth brought an end to the 113-run stand with a successful short-ball strategy that prompted Ghosh to miscue a draw. Gardner’s grubber ensnared captain Harmanpreet Kaur LBW three deliveries later. Additionally, the offspinner bowled Yastika Bhatia LBW and delivered a floating delivery to the palms of cover, which was taken by the well-positioned Rodrigues for 73 runs. India was down 4 for 14 in the ninth over with a lead of less than 50.
Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar rather spectacularly dispelled any Australian optimism that India could be passed for a lead below 100 and then put pressure on in the fourth innings that had developed during the post-lunch and pre-tea interval. The duo began the final session by batting cautiously, but as the bowlers grew weary and the ball became softer, they began to execute more fluid strokes.
Deepti, who had scored fifty plus runs in each of her previous three Tests, reached 70 after four consecutive fours. Vastrakar, on the other hand, was resolute in defense and prevented the hosts from taking any wickets in the final session. The duo amassed 102 runs prior to Stumps and engulfed Australia in a mountain of runs on a pitch that was predicted to deteriorate over the following two days.
Brief scores: India Women 376/7 (Smriti Mandhana 74, Jemimah Rodrigues 73, Deepti Sharma 70*; Ashleigh Gardner 4-100) lead Australia Women 219 by 157 runs.
