The recently concluded Test match saw Team India playing their first ever pink ball Test.
Women's cricket don't often include Test series as it doesn't garner that many fans like the shorter formats do. It's so rare that Australia played their first ever test in over two years and India played their first ever pink ball test.
The match though, didn't produce any result due to the intervention of rain in the first two days of the test match. However, there were a lot of things that both the teams would be proud of. Here are some of the highlights of the test and things that could change moving forward :
Indian Opening Duo
Ever since Shafali Verma made her debut in international cricket, she has been very good for India as an opener. With Smriti Mandhana at the other end, she looks fearless and composed most of the times. It wasn't any different this time too.
In the first innings of the test, the opening partnership between the duo set the game for Team India. They posted 93 runs in about 25 overs. In the second innings, the duo posted 70 runs in about 18 overs. It was one of the biggest positives for India from the test.
The sensational Smriti
Smriti Mandhana has been absolutely brilliant for India over the years. She showed her class in the longest format of the game as well. She became the first Indian woman cricketer to score a hundred in the pink ball test.
In the first innings, she scored 127 runs in 216 balls, that helped her team to post a total of 377 on the board. When some quick runs were required in the second innings, she scored a quick fire 31 runs in 48 balls. She later received the player of the match award for her performance in the test.
Infinitely abled Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Perry is arguably one of the best cricketers ever. She can bat, bowl and field amazingly well. She showed her all-round ability in the one-off test too. With the ball, she bowled 27 overs in the first innings and picked up two wickets. In the second innings, she didn't bowl much.
With the bat, she contributed well. She came in at 63/2 and batted till the end in the first innings. She scored an unbeaten 68 and helped her team to avoid follow-on. She now has at least a fifty in each of her last 4 tests. Currently, she also holds the record of best average for a batter in tests among women.
Indian pace trio
The Indian pace trio was certainly impressive throughout the test. An attack that had the likes of an experienced campaigner like Jhulan Goswami and the young pacers like Meghna Singh and Pooja Vastrakar, claimed a total of nine wickets between them.
Jhulan Goswami picked up 2 wickets in her first innings and a wicket in the second innings. Pooja Vastrakar claimed 3 wickets in the first innings and then dismissed Beth Mooney in the second innings. Meghna Singh on her debut picked up two wickets in the first innings.
Courtesy By : tosshub.com
Call for improvisation
Though the Test was an entertaining one and had good contest between the bat and the ball, it still yielded no result. The rain intervened for the first two days of the Test. And with the Tests in women's cricket being played only for four days (100 overs per day), the draw emerged as the final result.
Many fans, players and analysts of the game have called for the five days of cricket for the women's cricket too. It shows that people are interested in watching the women's Tests. Only time can tell what would change.
Courtesy By : im.rediff.com
