Australia v India cricket, day-night Test match: Smriti Mandhana’s Test century puts India in command.
Smriti Mandhana’s historic ton has put India in a powerful position as Ellyse Perry toiled hard despite early devastation.
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 hail storm, 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.
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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 wicket-keeper 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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