IND W v AUS W: Deepti, Vastrakar stand after fifties by Smriti, Richa, Jemimah help India take 157-run lead

Mumbai: Smriti Mandhana (74), Jemimah Rodrigues (73), Richa Ghosh (52) and Deepti Sharma (70*) struck superb half-centuries as India recovered from losing four wickets for 18 runs just before Tea to help take a 157-run lead with three wickets remaining against Australia Women at the end of the second day of the one-off Test of the multi-format series at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday.

At stumps, India were 376/7 in 110 overs with Deepti Sharma batting on 70 and Pooja Vastrakar keeping her company on 33. The duo added 102 runs for the eighth-wicket partnership of 143 minutes and 242 balls that rescued India from 276/7 at Tea.

India thus were enjoying a healthy lead of 157 runs with three wickets remaining in their first innings.

It was Deepti Sharma and Vastrakar that put India in the driver’s seat from where they would like to bat on for at least a session on the third day of the four-day match and extend the lead to at least 250 runs.

Having raised 90 runs for the opening wicket on the first day on Thursday, Mandhana struck the third half-century of her six-Test career and added 50 runs for the second wicket partnership with Sneh Rana (8).

Richa Ghosh struck her maiden half-century and raised a 113-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored her second successive half-century, for the fourth wicket helping India gain the lead after bundling out the mighty Aussies for just 219 on the opening day. They took India from 147/2 to 260/3 before India suffered a collapse that gave Australia a chance to gain a foothold in the match.

An untimely decision to quicken the scoring rate after the drinks break in the post-lunch session resulted in Richa Ghosh (52), Harmanpreet Kaur (0), Yastika Bhatia (1) and Jemimah losing (73) their wickets in quick succession as India collapsed TO 274/7, their lead just 55 runs with three wickets remaining.

However, Deepti Sharma came to India’s rescue once again as she raised a half-century partnership for the eighth wicket with Pooja Vastrakar to wrest back the initiative and put India back into the driver’s seat in this Test.

The first session belonged to India as they reached 193/3 at lunch after starting at the overnight score of 98/1.

With the ball keeping low on a pitch that still looks good for batting, Mandhana played cautiously as she started on her overnight score of 43 and thwarted Australia’s attempts to take early wickets and make inroads into the Indian innings. Mandhana scored 74, and with Sneh Rana (8) added 50 runs for the second wicket as India Women reached 193/3 in 52 overs at lunch on the second day of the four-day match.

Smriti Mandhana was the star of the session as she batted in total contrast to the way she and Shafali Verma played their strokes on Thursday evening.

Mandhana reached her half-century off 65 balls, hitting eight fours and celebrated the milestone with a boundary off Sutherland, capitalising on a short one on off-stump. She also benefitted from two back-to-back misfields by Tahila McGrath, who took her eyes off the ball, that went to the boundary.

She struck King for a boundary off a full-toss in the middle, pulling it to the vacant deep-midwicket region.

Gardner struck the first blow for Australia as she outfoxed Sneh Rana with one that did not spin much and went straight, avoiding the edge and rattling the middle stump. Rana played her part well, holding up one end as Mandhana did the run-scoring.

The first half of the second session on Day 2 belonged to Ghosh and Rodrigues as they dragged India past Australia’s first-innings score with a 113-run partnership.

They completed the half-centuries and then the century of their partnership, both completing their half-centuries in the process as India reached 250/3 in 68 overs.

Richa benefitted from a simple catch dropped by Ellyse Perry off Gardner at mid-off with the batter on 14. India were 165/3 in the 43rd over and a wicket could have detailed the innings.

Jemimah reached her half-century off 86 deliveries, hitting six boundaries while Richa reached her fifty off 98 balls, both showing great temperament in building the innings, defending well and capitalising on loose balls on a pitch on which the ball was keeping really low on occasions.

However, after the drinks break in the second session, both Jemimah and Richa tried to go after the bowling, looking to shore up the scoring and triggering a collapse.

Jemimah struck boundaries off successive balls off Jess Jonassen — dancing down the pitch to swing through the line over mid-on that goes one-bounce across the roop. The second one inside-out drive along the turf through covers.

In the next over, the Indians triggered their own downfall. After a heave across the line off Kim Garth fetches her two runs, Ghosh spoons a simple catch off a back-of-a-length delivery, swinging across the line but the ball falls just short of Ellyse Perry, who is a bit late to react.

She doesn’t learn from that mistake and is out two deliveries later as the 20-year-old from Siliguri, West Bengal, is back in the pavilion.

Garth bangs one short on the middle and leg and Richa plays a pull shot without getting into proper position, fails to connect cleanly and offers a simple catch to Gardner at deep backward square. She is out for 52 off 104 balls, hitting seven fours.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur did not trouble the scorer much as she fell victim to the low bounce. A delivery from Gardner keeps very low and evades the Indian captain’s defensive prod to hit the front pad. Harmanpreet reviews it but the verdict comes out as an ‘umpire’s call’ — India down to 261/5, leading by 42 runs with five more wickets in hand.

It became 265/6 when Yastika Bhatia attempted a sweep off a ball pitched on the middle stump, missed and was caught plumb in front. DRS shows the ball would have crashed into the stumps and Yastika has to go.

Jemimah, who had watched the carnage from the other side, failed to go all the way to her maiden century as she drove uppishly at a Gardner delivery pitched outside off and Annabel Sutherland took a sharp catch at extra cover. Jamimah’s superb 73 came off 121 balls and was studded with nine fours.

It was a brilliant knock by the 23-year-old from Mumbai and a clean one at it as she rarely gave any chance till she got out to Gardner.

Ashleigh Gardner was the star of Australia’s comeback in this session as she claimed 3-22 in 10 overs, her fourth spell of the match. She had taken 1-34 in the first session, bowling 13 overs unchanged. Overall, she bowled 41 overs in six spells for 3-100. Alana King with 19 overs was the next most-used bowler by Alyssa Healy.

The Australians had their tails up as they went in the final session with India leading by 57 runs with just three more wickets in hand.

However, Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar ended their hopes of restricting the Indian lead to a manageable level as they added 100 runs for the unfinished eighth-wicket partnership.

Both of them batted cautiously initially, not giving the Australian bowlers any chances. Batting was not easy on the wicket and the Australian bowlers particularly the spinners bowled tight line and length.

Sharma completed her half-century off 115 balls. This was her second half-century in successive matches. She had raised 92 runs for the seventh wicket with Sneh Rana in the previous Test against England.

Brief scores:

Australia Women 219 trail India Women 376/7 in 119 overs (Smriti Mandhana 74, Jemimah Rodrigues 73, Deepti Sharma 70 not out, Richa Sharma 52, Shafali Verma 40; Ashleigh Gardner 4-1000 by 157 runs.

–IANS