Right then, that is it from this entertaining One-Off Test where India Women write their name in the history books while Australia Women showed a good fight too and will look to take it into the white-ball series. The trophy has been handed to Harmanpreet Kaur who gives it to the debutant Richa Ghosh and the whole team along with the support staff gets together to lift it up and pose for a few pictures now. Next up, it will be the three-match ODI series between these two sides. The first game will be played on 28th December, Thursday at 2 pm IST (8.30 am GMT), but as you know, you can join us for all the build-up to the match. Until then, cheers and goodbye!
Harmanpreet Kaur, the victorious skipper of India Women says this game is a reward for all the hard work that the team has done over the years including the coaches and support staff. She explains that adding Richa into the mix was a thoughtful decision by the management to bring a bit of positive intent into the game that we have lacked in the past. She concludes that everybody in the team contributed to the win and taking 20 Australian wickets is a credit to the temperament that the team has and with the support of the bowling coach who always pushes them hard to take wickets, everything seems to work.
Sneh Rana is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for an amazing all-round show. She says it feels amazing. Adds that it is a great win for them. Tells that she knows her batting abilities and nobody was saying that she was the nightwatchman and she loved the company and batting with Smriti. Mentions that when the skipper gives you the ball, it means you have some responsibilities to contribute to the team. Further adds that she does not get disheartened with the dropped catches as it is part and parcel of the game. Says that she will rank these couple of performances at the top and this Test win will encourage more youngsters to take up the sport.
Alyssa Healy, the captain of Australia Women says they just had one bad day, but was a great experience to play red-ball cricket here in India. She credits India for the way they played and put pressure on them with a lot of runs on board. She adds that they missed balance on Day 1 where they got bowled out and leaked a bit too many. She says a score of at least 300 in the first innings on board for the Aussies could've changed the game. She concludes that there are six more games left in this series and they are very excited about those.
Presentation Time...
Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana to share a few words now. Smriti says that the batting was not very hard on the track and it was necessary to read the pitch of the ball and give yourself time in the middle, hitting the loose deliveries for boundaries. She concludes that with the small target on board, she along with Shefali were just talking about playing on the merit and not focusing too much on the board and conditions. Jemimah says she has always wanted to play Test cricket and to win two matches in a row feels special. She concludes by talking about the hard work she has been putting in to get consistent, which has been her only goal.
Pooja Vastrakar and Renuka Singh are up for a quick chat. Pooja says that she is happy creating history and with her performance as well. Adds that she tried hard with her batting and wanted them to play throughout the Day as she did not want to bowl. Renuka says that it was all about keeping patience and she got the reward for it. Ends by jokingly saying that the celebration plan is a secret and they cannot disclose it.
In reply, quite a few Indian batters got half-tons which saw them cross the 400-run mark and helped them gain a lead of something close to 200. The Australian top order then showed some fight. The likes of Perry and Tahlia McGrath showed a lot of grit and helped Australia crawl back into the game. Once Ellyse Perry fell, wickets tumbled at regular intervals. Sneh Rana was the pick with a four-fer. India just needed to chase 75. They did lose a couple of wickets, but in the end, chased it down comfortably to complete a clinical win.
A moment to saviour for the India Women side! Fittingly it comes at the iconic Wankhede Stadium as they get their first-ever Test victory against the Aussies. A dominant performance by them. Right from Day 1, they remained on top, and in the end, they beat the Australian side quite easily. It was their bowlers, the likes of Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma, and Sneh Rana who gave them the advantage on Day 1 by bowling the Australians out for a low score. The trio shared 9 wickets amongst them with Pooja bagging four.
In over# 19
4
0
1
0
Jess Jonassen 16/0(2.4)
18.4
4
FOUR! Smriti Mandhana finishes things off in style! Jess Jonassen flights this up, full and on middle, Smriti Mandhana dances down the track and smacks it over the bowler's head for a one-bounce boundary. INDIA WOMEN WIN BY 8 WICKETS & CREATE HISTORY!
18.3
.
A touch fuller, spinning into middle and leg, Smriti Mandhana defends it back to the bowler.
18.2
1
Shorter on length, on middle and leg, Smriti Mandhana taps it towards mid-wicket and gets one.
18.1
.
Shorter, outside off, coming into Jemimah Rodrigues who defends it to mid off.
In over# 18
1
0
0
4
0
0
Ashleigh Gardner 18/1(9)
17.6
1
Flighted, full and on middle, Jemimah Rodrigues sweeps it towards deep square leg for one.
17.5
.
Short again and on middle, Jemimah Rodrigues keeps it out well down the pitch.
17.4
.
Floated, short and on middle, turns in, keeps low, Jemimah Rodrigues stas back and tucks it towards short mid-wicket.
17.3
4
FOUR! That went like a Bullet. A tossed up delivery, outside the line of off, Jemimah Rodrigues sweeps it over the mid-wicket for a boundary.