AUS-W vs IND-W: Women’s Test Review – India dominate Aussies in drawn affair
The first-ever Day-Night Test match that the Indian Women’s cricket team was involved in, ended in a draw after 4 enthralling days of cricket. Indian Women batted first and declared their innings after posting a total of 377/8 on the board. Smriti Mandhana scored a ravishing 127 off 216 deliveries at the top of the order, while Deepti Sharma scored 66.
Australia replied with a total of 241/9, with the legendary Ellyse Perry top-scoring with a 203-ball 68. India declared their second innings with the scoreboard reading 135/3, and youngster Shafali Verma scored 52.
Set a target of 272 for victory, the Aussie Women safely negotiated 15 overs, and ended their second innings with their scorecard reading 36/2, as the match ended in a draw.
Top Performers from the Match
1. Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana was the star with the willow for the Indian Women’s side. She scored a brilliant century (127) in the first innings, and her innings was studded with 22 fours and a six.
Mandhana’s innings helped India post a total in excess of 350 in the first innings, and helped them dominate the Aussie side for a majority of the Test match. In the second innings too, the left-hander scored a useful 48-ball 31.
2. Ellyse Perry
Fifty for Perry! And a very fine one at that.#AUSvIND #PinkBallTest pic.twitter.com/mbsp71sK8G
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 3, 2021
Ellyse Perry stepped up for the Australian side when they desperately needed her to. Australia was in trouble at 119/4, but Perry stitched together a crucial 89-run stand for the 5th wicket with Ashleigh Gardner. Perry scored an unbeaten 68 off 203 deliveries. With the ball too, Perry scalped 2 wickets in the first innings.
Important stats from the Match
1. This match was a special one for Ellyse Perry. The Australian became just the third Women’s cricketer to go past 300 wickets in international cricket. The other two are Katherine Brunt and Jhulan Goswami. Perry also achieved the rare feat of scoring 5000 runs and completing 300 wickets in international cricket as well.
2. Smriti Mandhana became the first and only Indian Woman batter to score a Test century in Australia. Mandhana’s innings of 127 is also her first century in the whites for her country.
What next for both teams
After this enthralling contest, both the Indian Women and the Australia Women will clash with each other in a three-match T20I series. This T20I series will begin on 7th October 2021. All 3 matches will be played at the Carrara Oval in Queensland.
