One-off Test, India vs Australia: Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana and openers shine

Fine bowling effort restricts Australia women to 219 before batters Mandhana, Shafali take over
MUMBAI: This Indian women’s team seems intent on making the most of the rare chance to play back to back Tests at home. Flying high after a record 347-run triumph against England last week, India stamped their authority on Day One of their one-off Test against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium.

Leading India’s charge with the ball, after Australia chose to bat first, was pacer Pooja Vastrakar. She looked dangerous on an uneven pitch at the Wankhede, scalping 4/53 in a fabulous effort that included dream deliveries to dismiss Aussie opener Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry.

Castling a stunned Perry with a ball that jagged back to hit middle stump, Vastrakar gave India an upper hand at lunch. Australia were 103/4 when Mooney fended off her bouncer to Sneh Rana at first slip off the last ball before the break.

Later, in a superb third spell that read 4-0-9-2, Rana sent back Australia’s Ashes centurion Annabel Sutherland (16) leg-before with one that nipped back sharply, and Ashleigh Gardner.

After stumps on Thursday, Vastrakar said that the Indian team’s plan was to exploit both Australia and England’s vulnerability against incoming deliveries bowled with a wobble seam.

“Naturally, I bowl out-swingers, but while watching the videos of both these teams (Australia and England), they had some difficulty in facing incoming deliveries. We practiced during the training to try and get the ball moving in with the wobble seam, since the ball cuts well with the wobble seam and batters face difficulty,” the 24-year-old said.

With the track assisting spin, India’s off-spinners Rana (3/56 in 22.4 overs) and Deepti Sharma (2/45 in 19 overs) too continued their fine show as the hosts bowled out Australia for 219 in 77.4 overs, their lowest total against India.

Finding the perfect opportunity to rub salt into the rattled Aussies’ wounds, India’s opening pair of Smriti Mandhana (batting on 43; 49b, 8x4) and Shafali Verma (40; 59b, 8x4) then took apart the visitors’ erratic bowling, cracking 16 fours — most of them through the off-side between them in a 90-run stand in just 100 balls. Matching each other stroke for stroke, the duo raced away to their fifth fifty partnership in seven Test innings.

While Shafali’s three fours-two cover drives off debutant left-arm pacer Lauren Cheatle and a straight drive off Perry showing the bowler the full face of the bat-were worth going miles to see, Mandhana’s cover drives and punches were as usual, regal and exquisite.

Both Kim Garth (0-34 in four overs) and Perry (0-31 in four overs) suffered the wrath of India’s belligerent openers, as they kept missing their lengths, bowling too full.

To round off a miserable day for her, Perry bowled two no balls in the 13th over (it went for 13 runs), while Mandhana helped pulled and drove her for boundaries.

Brief scores: India Women 98/1 (Mandhana 43*, Shafali 40) trail Australia Women 219 (McGrath 50, Mooney 40, Vastrakar 4-53, Rana 3-56) by 121 runs.


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