The India women’s cricket team extended their domination over Australia in the one-off Test as Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar’s brilliant stand helped the hosts end Day 2 with a 150-plus lead. India, who resumed on 98 for 1, finished with a score of 376 for 7 at stumps on Day 2, taking control of the only red-ball match in Mumbai.
After half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana (74), Jemimah Rodrigues (73) and debutant Richa Ghosh (52) put India ahead of Australia’s first-innings total of 219 at Wankhede Stadium, Gardner led a brief fightback that saw India lose 4 wickets for 14 runs to trail Australia by 57 runs at tea.
Deepti and Pooja batted through the final session and added an unbeaten 102-run eighth-wicket stand to lift India to 376 for 7 at the end of play on Day 2. Deepti, who batted one spot lower than usual after Sneh Rana was elevated to nightwatch on day one, added to her outstanding red-ball record with the bat, scoring a gritty fifty off 115 deliveries. Deepti and Vastrakar will resume Day 3 on 70 and 33 respectively.
Notably, Deepti is in terrific form in Test cricket, having been dismissed for less than fifty runs once in the last seven innings. Australia took the second new ball shortly after the tea break, but their pacers were unable to make inroads, as they had done the day before with the first.
After a largely positive morning for the hosts, despite the loss of Mandhana, India steadily chipped away to cut Australia’s lead to 26 at lunch. India, who resumed Day 2 at 193 for 3, went past Australia’s meagre total of 219, and frustration mounted for the tourists as Rodrigues hit her second half-century in as many Tests, and then debutant Ghosh, who had been given an early start, followed suit.
Gardner dismissed Richa Ghosh for 52 as Kim Garth took a routine catch at deep backward square leg. Gardner then got rid of India captain Harmanpreet Kaur (0) and wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia (1) on consecutive deliveries with low-striking balls. Gardner’s next wicket was Rodrigues, who had fought valiantly but had her hopes of a maiden Test tonne dashed when she hit a sharp catch to Annabel Sutherland at cover on 73 shortly before tea, leaving India at 276 for 7, leading by 57 runs at tea.
