India Women sealed a eight-wicket win against Australia Women on Day 4 of their one-off Test match, in Mumbai on Sunday. Chasing 75 runs, India reached 75/2 in 18.4 overs, courtesy of an unbeaten knock of 38 off 61 balls by Smriti Mandhana. The visitors began the second innings with a total of 261, in response of India's first innings score of 406. Tahlia McGrath (73) got a half-century for Australia in their second innings but it didn't really make an impact due to Sneh Rana's 4/63.
Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Kaur and Rajeshwari Gayakwad scalped two dismissals each for India. Speaking after hitting the match-winning four, Mandhana said, “It wasn't that tough. We thought it was going to be a rank turner on day three and four. But if you showed patience, it wasn't that hard. I told Shafali to bat as we batted in the first innings. Just react to the ball, that was the only message we had. She was unfortunate, but she started off beautifully with that cover drive.”
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After winning the toss, India bundled out the Aussies for 219 on the opening day. Then, India took a 187-run lead, with collective display from Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana at the top, Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle order, followed by DEept Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar.
Australia, led by McGrath's brilliance, fought back on Day 3 as she bagged her second fifty of the match. Harmanpreet took some key wickets in the final session of the Day 3, and then her teammates wrapped up the last five wickets for just 28 runs in the morning session of Day 4. Chasing 75, there werent much hiccups for India as Mandhana remained unbeaten and hit the match-winning runs.
{{/usCountry}}Australia, led by McGrath's brilliance, fought back on Day 3 as she bagged her second fifty of the match. Harmanpreet took some key wickets in the final session of the Day 3, and then her teammates wrapped up the last five wickets for just 28 runs in the morning session of Day 4. Chasing 75, there werent much hiccups for India as Mandhana remained unbeaten and hit the match-winning runs.
{{/usCountry}}After the game, Sneh, who received Player of the Match, said, "It feels amazing, standing here receiving this award, fantastic win by our team. No one called me night watchman because I can bat. First time batting with Smriti and we were enjoying each others' company. Catch drops are part of the match. Everyone wants to contribute. Even I can drop catches, so I don't feel bad. I try to come back harder. Test matches are taking place in India after a long time, Test match gives a different vibe. The team environment in the last 15 days and the support that we have been receiving, it's really amazing. Two home Tests and we have won both. I think it will attract a lot of youngsters."