Australia v India player ratings: Historic pink ball Test peters out to draw
India shaded Australia in the historic pink ball Test, but it ended all square and the Aussies maintained their series lead. Emma Greenwood rates each players’ performance.
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Australia’s historic pink-ball Test against India has finished in a draw despite both captains attempting to manufacture a result.
Both Meg Lanning and Mithali Raj made declarations on the final day in an attempt to force the pace in a game severely affected by bad weather.
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But India’s decision to set Australia 272 from 32 overs to win was not enough of a carrot for the Aussies to mount a serious chase.
Lanning and Raj agreed to call it quits at the final drinks break, with Australia still needing 236 for victory from 17 overs, with India chasing eight wickets.
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Each team will take two points from the match under the multi-format concept, with Australia taking a 6-4 lead in the series heading into the T20 matches.
India needs to win all three of those to win the series.
Earlier, Raj and Lanning made declarations, hoping to set up a thrilling end to the Test.
After a relatively insipid day three from Australia, captain Lanning made a bold move,
declaring at 9-241 despite being 136 runs behind India’s first-innings score.
While the natural inclination may have been to instruct Ellyse Perry (68no) to hang in as long as possible for the final wicket to ensure the draw, Lanning played for the result in her most aggressive move of the match.
But the home side’s hopes of running through the Indian line-up quickly in their first real night-time stint with the pink ball, were dashed with the quicks unable to make an early breakthrough.
Debutante Stella Campbell bowled well again but went unrewarded when Ash Gardner misjudged a chance from first-innings centurion Smriti Mandhana.
Gardner had trouble sighting the pink ball in a sea of red seats at Metricon Stadium, with another chance dropping well short when she was unsighted.
But she soon made amends, covering about 30m before diving to take an outfield screamer to dismiss Mandhana for 31.
She followed through with the ball in hand, bowling Yastika Bhatia (3) and troubling dangerous opener Shafali Verma.
Gardner had earlier scored her maiden Test 50, becoming the first Indigenous women to score a half-century.
The Australians had earlier made life difficult for themselves, being in danger of having the follow-on enforced after an outstanding effort from the Indian bowlers with the second new ball.
Resuming at 4-143 on day four in response to India’s 8(dec)-377, Australia still needed 84 runs to avoid the follow-on but only limped past the mark after an outstanding unbeaten effort from Perry.
Perry (68no) and Gardner (51) put on 89 runs for the fifth wicket but India took over from there, with quicks Jhulan Goswami (2-33), Meghna Singh (2-54) and Pooja Vastrakar (3-49) outstanding.
Australia lost 4-15 starting with the dismissal of Gardner, to be reeling at 8-223, still eight runs short of their target.
Perry watched on as batters fell around her, with debutante Annabel Sutherland (3), Sophie Molineux (2) and first-gamer Georgia Wareham (2), all dismissed cheaply.
Only a four from debutante tailender Darcie Brown ensured the Aussies would avoid the follow-on.
Brown was soon on her way as well, with Lanning calling her team in still in arrears, to try and force the result but their inability to be in a position to push the pace with the bat hurt their chances of manufacturing a contest in a game largely controlled by the weather.
Perry’s effort with the bat continued an outstanding match after she improved with the ball as Australia’s first innings in the field went on.
While she survived an lbw appeal from spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad when on 37 – and was dropped twice late in her innings, on 58 and 61 – the effort continues her recent stellar efforts in Test cricket.
Her 68no brought up a 50 in nine Tests to go with two centuries and she has not yet been dismissed in a pink-ball Test.
The effort underlined Perry’s importance for Australia after key batters Lanning and Alyssa Healy failed to go on with it following strong starts.
PLAYER RATINGS
Australia
Alyssa Healy – 6.5
Failed to go on with things after a good start with the bat in the first innings and lost her battle with Goswami again in the second, while having few chances to impress behind the stumps with the quicks battling.
Beth Mooney – 4
Would be disappointed with her efforts after falling for just four in the first innings and 11 in the second, putting little pressure on Rachael Haynes retaining her opening spot on return.
Meg Lanning – 6
The lack of opportunity at Test level showed initially for Lanning but her declaration on Sunday was a bold move deserving of praise.
Ellyse Perry – 9
Only her occasional struggles with the ball mark Perry down slightly but another sterling effort with the bat shows why she is regarded as a superstar of the game.
Tahlia McGrath – 6
Wicketless though economical in a 16-over spell in the first innings. Made a start with the bat but failed to go on with it.
Ash Gardner – 8.5
Took the key wicket of Mandhana in the first innings before making a half-century with the bat in a strong showing.
Annabel Sutherland – 6.5
Went unrewarded with the ball despite being regarded by teammates as the best of the bowlers but grassed an easy chance in the field. Baptism of fire with the bat facing the second new ball.
Sophie Molineux – 7
Used sparingly but highly effective when got a chance, taking key wickets of Verma and Raut. Woud be disappointed in batting effort though.
Georgia Wareham – 5
Limited opportunities on debut for the leg spinner but showed she will be dangerous on a suitable pitch after snaring her maiden Test wicket late on the final day.
Darcie Brown – 5
Opened the bowling with Perry on debut but was too short early and gave up too many runs limiting her chances.
Stella Campbell – 7.5
Showed she is a player of the future with a strong debut that included two key first-innings wickets.
India
Smriti Mandhana – 9
Played beautifully for her 127 in the first innings, overcoming several rain delays to maintain concentration and put India in the box seat.
Shafali Verma – 8
Walked the walk in the second innings with a quick-fire 52 that allowed India to set the Aussies a target late on the final day.
Punam Raut – 7.5
Gained plenty of respect when she decided to walk in the first innings and showed style and flair with a quickfire 41 in the second dig.
Mithali Raj – 7.5
Would be disappointed at getting run out after a strong start. Led her troops well and had the better of the captaincy battle with Lanning.
Yastika Bhatia – 5.5
Got a start but could not go on with it after being on the end of a great spell from Perry in the first innings and fell cheaply in a disappointing second dig.
Deepti Sharma – 8.5
Great effort with the bat and ball. Probably copped a rough call when given out lbw to a ball pitching outside off stump.
Taniya Bhatia – 6
Put down what should have been a regulation chance to dismiss Perry but generally reliable behind the stumps.
Pooja Vastrakar – 8
Outstanding comeback from serious injuries over the past few years with an outstanding bowling effort that troubled all the Aussies.
Jhulan Goswami – 9
Pick of the bowlers in the match. Made the pink ball sing both under lights and in the daylight - a step above the rest.
Meghna Singh – 8
Not quite at the level of her opening bowling partner but had the Aussies on the hop with her new-ball efforts.
Day 3 recap
Ellyse Perry made history, India took honours, but the historic pink ball Test looks headed for a draw on the Gold Coast.
At stumps on day three, Australia was 4-143, still 84 runs short of the follow-on after India declared its innings closed at 8-377 after meandering through the daylight session at Metricon Stadium.
Despite a golden period under lights with the pink ball, a result is unlikely, with the Test almost certain to peter out into a draw.
Wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy, who was dismissed for 29, said winning the game in the final day was a “really difficult task”, with a draw likely.
“I think we’d have to give them a bit of a lead and then back our bowlers to take wickets,” she said.
“To be fair, we created enough opportunities with the ball, so if that’s the route that we do want to go down, I back our bowlers to get it done.
“But the reality is, losing a whole day of a four-day Test, it’s really difficult to get a result and (with three T20s to come in the multi-format series) we wouldn’t mind seeing a few of their bowlers out there for 108 overs, so we’ll have to wait and see how it pans out.
“We’ll come out and try and work really hard in the first hour, they’ll come really hard and try and take some early wickets and we’ll get through that and see what position we’re in.”
Perry (27no) and Ash Gardner (13no) will resume on Sunday, keen to add to her tally to ensure Australia takes the two points on offer for a draw under the scoring system being used for the multi-format series.
Perry overcome a slow start to her 250th international to become the first Australian to notch 5000 runs and 300 wickets in all forms of cricket.
The 30-year-old all-rounder – who has struggled with her bowling action early this summer, going wicketless through the three-match one-day series – snared Pooja Vastrakar for 13 just before the dinner break to notch her 300th international scalp.
She becomes just the third woman to reach the mark, with only India’s Jhulan Goswami (339 wickets) and England’s Katherine Brunt (301) having previously broken the barrier.
On a wicket the Aussies found difficult to muster any life from, the Indians put their rivals to the sword in the first real use of the pink ball under lights.
After dismissing openers Beth Mooney (4) and Alyssa Healy (29) before tea on day three, the tourists snared the prized wicket of Australian captain Meg Lanning (38), who was given out lbw to Vastrakar despite seeming to get a meaty inside edge on to her pads.
Just an hour after Perry (2-76) took her place in history, Goswami showed why she sits at no.1, snaring the scalp of Mooney before dismissing Healy in a vicious twilight spell.
“I did enjoy it, it was fun,” Healy said of the battle she had with Goswami.
“Walking off isn’t that fun but I did enjoy the challenge of it. She’s got the better of me a few times in the series already, so I’m up for the contest come the T20s.
“But I think it’s just a great sight for Test cricket. She’s obviously a world class bowler and has been for her whole career and just that extra little bit of bounce that she gets being so tall and unbelievably skilful with the seam, it was a real challenge.”
Lanning was dropped twice before tea, given a life on 17 when dropped in the gully by Deepti Sharma off the bowling of Pooja Vastrakar before surviving another chance when dropped by keeper Taniya Bhatia the ball before the break.
But her luck would not hold and she was out lbw to Vastraka, with the medium-pacer striking again in the final session to take the wicket of Tahlia McGrath (28), with Australia still 108 runs short of the follow-on.
After resuming at 5-276 at the start of play on Saturday, India dawdled through an opening two-and-a-half hour session, giving little indication they wanted to push the pace ahead of a declaration.
The Aussies did little to help themselves though, with their fielding – usually a great strength of the team – continuing to be poor.
Seven chances were given up, something that could cost them dearly with almost 100 overs of the four-day match lost to bad weather.
Debutante Stella Campbell made the eventual breakthrough, drawing an edge from Taniya Bhatia for her maiden Test wicket, before snaring the dangerous Deepti Sharma lbw for 66.
Day 2 recap
Smriti Mandhana notched her maiden Test century before an Australia fightback slowed India’s charge on Friday in the pink-ball, day-night Test at Metricon Stadium.
When the second day’s play was suspended 73 minutes into the second session due to lightning and subsequent hailstorm, India was 5-276 in the 102nd over, with Deepti Sharma on 12 and Taniya Bhatia yet to score.
The tourists were in total command of the contest at 1-195 in the 69th over when opener Mandhana’s marvellous ending finally came to an end.
Attempting to drive off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner, Mandhana was caught at short mid-off by Tahlia McGrath for 127 from 216 balls.
The dismissal ended a 102 second-wicket partnership between Mandhana and the steady Punam Raut.
Raut’s honesty proved costly for India in the 81st over with the total at 217.
Having clawed her way to 36, she edged left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux to wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy.
Despite umpire Phil Gillespie turning down Australia’s appeal, Raut walked to give Molineux her second wicket of the match.
India lost two more wickets – those of Yastika Bhatia (18) and captain Mithali Raj (30) – before players were forced off field.
One went to Ellyse Perry (1-54 off 18 overs), who with the aid of a Beth Mooney catch in the gully, claimed the scalp of Bhatia.
It was Perry’s first wicket of the multi-format, seven-match series after she struggled with the ball in the three one-day internationals playing in Mackay.
Raj was batting well before setting off for a needless single that wasn’t on.
Debutante Annabel Sutherland did the rest, with a direct hit catching the Indian skipper short of her crease.
Early scare
Having yet to add to her overnight score of 80, Mandhana seemed to have thrown her wicket away in just the second over of the day when she smashed a rank full toss from Perry to forward point, where Mooney dived low to her right to seemingly complete the dismissal.
However, Mandhana stood her ground, perhaps waiting for confirmation that the ball carried to Mooney.
But it didn’t matter, with replays showing Perry had bowled a front-foot, no-ball.
Mandhana made the most of her second chance, bringing up her century – the first Test ton by an Indian woman on Australian soil – soon after with successive boundaries of Perry’s bowling.
Perry’s wicket of Yastika Bhatia was a good reward for the all-rounder, who had toiled hard without anything to show for her efforts.
Over-stepping the crease in her first over of the day when she thought she had dismissed Mandhana was her own fault.
But Mooney did her star teammate no favours when she dropped a sitter in the slips off Perry’s bowling that gave Raj a life at 23.
However, Mooney made amends soon after, holding on to a tougher chance to complete the dismissal Yastika Bhatia off Perry’s bowling.
What’s up with Ellyse Perry?
Rachael Haynes was “devastated” after the star batter was ruled out of this week’s Test against India with a hamstring issue as coach Matthew Mott revealed he’d stick with Ellyse Perry to open the bowling despite an underwhelming one-day series.
The match on the Gold Coast is set to proceed despite Mott conceding everyone was concerned amid an escalating Covid situation in southeast Queensland forced a Sheffield Shield game in Brisbane to be abandoned.
Mott said it was “business as usual” with a Thursday afternoon start pencilled in for the day-night clash and that the team wouldn’t adjust its preparation until necessary.
Beth Mooney has been passed fit to play after leaving the field during Sunday’s one-day loss to India with hamstring soreness, and spinner Georgia Wareham is recovering well from a quad strain.
All-rounder Annabel Sutherland could be among what Mott said would be “a few” debutantes set to come from the bowling ranks in the 18-player squad.
Perry also now looms as a hugely important part of what will be a largely inexperienced pace attack and is likely to open the bowling despite failing to take a wicket in the one-day series.
Mott said the 30-year-old conceded she was “hasn’t really hit the ground” with her bowling having returned 0-104 in the three games, and was yanked from the attack after just two wild overs in the opening match.
It came after spending 14 days in hard quarantine before the series, which Mott said was always going to have an impact. Perry is also making some technical changes that haven’t been “fully drilled down”.
But the coach was confident Perry, who has taken 31 Test wickets in eight matches since her debut in 2008, would lift for her favourite format.
“Ellyse would be the first to admit she hasn’t really hit the ground with her bowling as yet,” Mott said on Tuesday.
“I think that you need to keep perspective on these things, anytime you put down tools for days and days leading into a key series, you’re going to have time to work through things.
“She’s certainly cognisant of what she needs to do and we haven’t had time to drill it down in the nets.
“Ben Sawyer the fast bowling coach has had a lot of conversations with her. They have worked on the alignments, it’s more to the left handers than anything.
“She’s swinging the ball so there’s a lot to like about it. Obviously it’s a Test match, she should be able to get into some big spells.
“She swings the ball upfront so I think she’s really looking forward to changing formats, clearly with the bat she’s been a revelation in this format so I think she goes in very excited.”
Mott said losing Haynes for the rest of the series, including three T20s after this week’s game was a huge blow for the 34-year-old and the team ahead of the team’s first Test since 2019.
“She’s devastated. Test matches don’t come around too often. She’s a key member of our squad,” Mott said on Tuesday.
“She wants to hang around until the first day of the Test then she will get home. She’s expecting a child soon (with her partner). It’s bitter sweet. We’ll miss her a lot.”
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