India in control on Day 2 as batters wear Australia down in one-off women’s Test | Cricket News
India Women’s Deepti Sharma celebrates her half century with Pooja Vastrakar on the second day of the one-off Test cricket match between India Women and Australia Women, at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. (Image: PTI)
New Delhi: India took complete control of the one-off women’s Test against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, finishing Day 2 with a commanding 157-run lead. Starting the day on 98 for 1, Indian batters wore Australia down in the field for almost 100 overs on a hot Mumbai day.
Half-centuries Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma helped India finish on 376 for 7 in 119 overs. Pooja Vastrakar, who is unbeaten at the crease with Deepti, also made a useful contribution of 33 runs. The duo frustrated Australia, who made some quick inroads in the middle order, with an unbeaten 102-run partnership – the second-highest eighth-wicket stand for India.
Australia fail to capitalise on good start
Australia dismissed Sneh Rana 9 (57) and Smriti Mandhana (74), who added 31 runs to his overnight score in the space of seven runs to give themselves an excellent opportunity to run through the middle order. But a 113-run stand between Ghosh (52) and Rodrigues (73) steadied India’s ship. Though the Aussies bounced back brilliantly by getting rid of Ghosh, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (0) Yastika Bhatia (1) and Rodrigues in the space of 14 runs to leave India at 274 for 7. But just when Australia looked favourites to limit the first-innings damage, Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar joined hands to deflate the Aussies.
Sharma, Vastrakar frustate Aussies
Sharma and Vastrakar batted for more than a session and frustrated the Aussies with a splendid unbeaten partnership of 102 runs in 40.2 overs. Sharma, in particular, was impressive with his selection of shots. She mixed caution with aggression perfectly. Her knock was a perfect example of how to construct an innings in a Test match. Sharma remained unbeaten on 70 with the help of nine boundaries. Vastrakar, on the other hand, proved to be a perfect foil for Sharma. The fast-bowling allrounder showed his defensive prowess to remain not out on 33 off 115 balls.
