Australia Women looked more in control at the end of the first session on Day 1 of the ongoing one-off Test against India Women in Perth. The morning session didn’t go according to plan for the visitors as they lost four wickets for 99 runs. After losing the T20I series 2-1 to India, the Aussies made a strong comeback in the three-match ODI series, clean-sweeping the Women in Blue. They entered this pink-ball Test with an 8-4 lead in the multi-format series.
For India, it is a must-win clash to gain four points and level the series. However, it was not a happy start for Harmanpreet Kaur’s side. Playing her last international match, Australia skipper Alyssa Healy won the toss and asked India to bat first. India handed four debut caps – Pratika Rawal, Kashvee Gautam, Kranti Gaud, and Sayali Satghare. For Australia, the young and promising left-arm pacer Lucy Hamilton also received her debut cap.
Hamilton had a dream start as she cleaned up Smriti Mandhana for just four runs. It was a beautiful in-swinging delivery that zipped through Mandhana’s inside edge and disturbed the middle stump.
After that, debutant Rawal looked calm and composed while supporting Shafali Verma at the other end. As expected, there was bounce and some movement off the deck on the traditional WACA pitch. Shafali did not look fully in control at the start, but she survived the early spells and gradually began stitching runs.
The pair added 36 runs before Shafali fell for 35 to star all-rounder Annabel Sutherland. Sutherland was the only Australian pacer consistently bowling both in-swing and outswing to unsettle the batters. Shafali seemed to lose her shape while going for a drive and only managed an outside edge, resulting in a straightforward catch for Beth Mooney behind the stumps.
Rawal also had a few nervous moments. On two occasions, she threw her bat well outside the off stump, and the ball raced through the field for four. However, she was not lucky the third time. On the 43rd ball she faced, Rawal went for a hard-handed poke against Sutherland and edged it to Hamilton at gully for 18.
Skipper Harmanpreet then joined Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle and started with a few confident strokes. A flick to the leg side followed by a well-timed drive showed her clear intent to score runs. In fact, Harmanpreet’s presence seemed to give Rodrigues some confidence, as she had looked uncomfortable early in her innings.
Rodrigues was often seen playing front-foot shots despite the ball swinging and bouncing. Unfortunately, Darcie Brown broke through Harmanpreet’s defence. There was a big gap between bat and pad as she went for a drive, and the ball nipped back slightly to hit the off stump.
Deepti Sharma came in next and survived an early LBW shout. Eventually, both she and Rodrigues ensured India did not lose any more wickets as the visitors finished the session at 99/4 in 27 overs.
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