Mumbai, Dec 22
Smriti Mandhana scored a half-century as India Women maintained their advantage in the one-off Test against a fighting Australia Women, who claimed two wickets in a riveting morning session on the second day of the four-day match at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
With the ball keeping low on a pitch that still looks good for batting, Mandhana played cautiously as she started on her overnight score of 43. Mandhana scored 74, and with Sneh Rana (8) added 50 runs for the second wicket as India Women reached 193/3 in 52 overs at lunch on the second day of the four-day match.
At the break, Richa Ghosh was batting on 24 (53 balls, 3x4) with Jemimah Rodrigues keeping her company with 24 off 41 balls, hitting two fours.
Starting at the overnight score of 98/1, India built on their first innings as the Australians came out fighting, their bowlers adjusting their line and length after playing into the Indian openers' hands by giving them width.
Australia skipper Alyssa Healy started with the pace-spin combo of Annable Sutherland and Ashleigh Gardner but soon resorted to spin from both ends, with leg-spinner Alana King getting into action from the Garware End.
Mandhana reached her half-century off 65 balls, hitting eight fours and celebrated the milestone with a boundary off Sutherland, capitalising on a short one on off-stump. She also benefitted from two back-to-back misfields by Tahila McGrath, who took her eyes off the ball, that went to the boundary.
She struck King for a boundary off a full-toss in the middle, pulling it to the vacant deep-midwicket region.
Gardner struck the first blow for Australia as she outfoxed Sneh Rana with one that did not spin much and went straight, avoiding the edge and rattling the middle stump. Rana played her part well, holding up one end as Mandhana did the run-scoring.
Debutant Richa Ghosh started off with a four but India suffered a big setback when Mandhana was needlessly run out just when it looked like she would go on to score her second century following the 127 she struck in the pink-ball Test in Australia in 2021.
Ghosh called for a quick single after Mandhana came down the pitch but skewed it off the outside part of the bat to backward point. The left-handed opener was slow off the blocks, hesitated a bit and then failed to stretch fully trying to get into the crease. Her bat was on the line when Gardner whipped off the bails at the non-striker's end off a good through by Kim Garth.
Mandhana's superb knock of 74 came 106 balls and was studded with 12 hits to the fence, India were 147/3 at that stage, still 72 runs behind Australia's score.
The visitors could have another wicket but Ellyse Perry dropped a dolly offered by Richa off Gardner. Richa, batting on 14, lobbed a simple catch to mid-off but Perry made hash off the easy chance.
India were 165/3 at that time in 43rd overs but Richa and Jemimah did not allow any more wickets as they saw through the session adding 46 runs for the unfinished fourth wicket as India reached 193/3 at lunch.
Gardner was Australia's best bowler in this session as she bowled 13 overs unchanged, taking the wicket of Sneh. Though she bowled quickly through the air, the off-spinner bowled a tight line and gave the ball a bit of air.
Brief scores (At lunch):
Australia 219 lead India 193/3 in 52 overs (Smriti Mandhana 74, Shafali Verma 40, Richa Ghosh batting 24, Jemimah Ghosh batting 24; Ashleigh Gardner 1-42, Jess Jonassen 1-14) lead 26 runs.
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