India-W blow apart Australia-W to create history in Mumbai

History was created in Mumbai as the Indian women registered their first-ever win against the reckoning Australian team in Test cricket. It took them a while before they could cross that finishing line but when the time arrived, it was Smriti Mandhana, the Indian vice-captain who administered the coup de grace.

Batting first, Australia could pile up 219 on a surface that threw its own set of shenanigans. Tahlia McGrath top-scored with a warring half-century while Beth Mooney’s 40 at the start did the lion’s share of heavy lifting for the visitors in their modest tally. Pooja Vastrakar was the tormentor-in-chief for the Aussies with a haul of four wickets while Sneh Rana motored alongside perfectly with a three-fer.

The Indian batters posted a rippling display with their two openers shining brightly. Shafali Verma clubbed a breezy 40 while the RCB-W skipper, Smriti Mandhana hammered a well-orchestrated 74. Despite Sneh Rana failing to add much to the tally, it was Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues who completely changed the course of the match-up7.

Ghosh smashed 52 which was also her maiden Test fifty while Jemimah blasted 73 from 121 balls, propelling India to the driver’s seat. The fall of Richa Ghosh did leave India stuttering as they lost four wickets in a span of 14 runs, sparking a déjà vu of the infamous Australian resurgence, however, a late stand of emphatic resistance from Deepti Sharma (78) and Pooja Vastrakar (47) threw a spanner in the plans of the visitors. India finished their first innings for 406 with Ashleigh Gardner being the pick of the lot for the Aussies with figures of 4/100.

Trailing by 187 runs, the visitors were off to a flyer but then Richa’s lightning fast throw laced with Sneh Rana’s brilliance got rid of the two openers, Beth Mooney (33) and Phoebe Litchfield (18). Ellyse Perry (43) and Tahlia McGrath (73) did a phenomenal job of keeping the Indian invasion at bay with a crucial 84-runs stand for the third wicket, but Sneh Rana managed to produce the all-important breakthrough clinching Pez to rattle the stand.

Another impressive partnership followed suit with Alyssa Healy cooking some sharp resistance with a well-scored 32 alongside McGrath but Harmanpreet Kaur introduced herself into the attack to leave the former with her timber rattled while the Indian skipper got another in the form of her counterpart. With Healy back in the hut, the floodgates were open and the Indian bowlers didn’t need a separate invitation to rage through.

Sneh Rana continued with her brilliant bowling, chronicling an imperative four-fer while being aptly complemented by Rajeshwari Gayakwad who claimed a brace alongside the skipper who also registered identical figures as that of the former to leave Australia reeling. The visitors were skittled out, courtesy of the late collapse, for 261, posting a target of 75 for the hosts.

Despite the loss of Shafali Verma (4) and Richa Ghosh (13), Smriti Mandhana stayed unbeaten for 38 to craft history for the Indian women as they registered Test wins over two stalwarts of the format in the form of England and Australia. Sneh Rana was awarded the Player of the Match for her defining display with the cherry in her hand.