INDW V AUSW: Vastrakar Claims Two As India Reduce Australia To 103/4 At Lunch
Vastrakar claimed 2-29 in six overs while Sneh Rana claimed 1-12 as India wrested the initiative after Tahila McGrath struck the fastest half-century for Australia Women in Test cricket and added 80 runs for the second wicket with opener Beth Mooney (40) to rescue the visitors from a precarious 7/2 in the second over.
At lunch, Australia skipper Alyssa Healy was batting on nine.
Healy could not have imagined that they would be in this situation when she won the toss and elected to bat in her debut match as captain. They got off to a poor start but recovered a bit before losing two wickets late in the first session as the hosts took control of the proceedings.
Phoebe Litchfield was run out for a diamond duck on the sixth ball of the match as she got into a huge misunderstanding with Beth Mooney. After Mooney laps the ball around, both take off for a run but Litchfield stops to look at the fielder while Mooney continues to motor ahead. Jemimah Rodrigues picks up and throws and Litchfield is well short of the crease, out for a duck without facing a ball.
Ellyse Perry (4) starts with a four but is out the next ball as Pooja Vastrakar brings the ball in and it jags in through the huge gap between bat and pad to disturb the stumps. Australia down to 7/2 in the second over.
But Mooney and Tahlia McGrath rescue Australia with an 80-run partnership for the third wicket in 122 balls. Tahlia played a counter-attacking half-century, cutting, slashing and driving deliveries that were bowled wide off the off-stump.
In the 4th over, McGrath struck Pooja to back-to-back boundaries -- first a drive through covers off a length ball, followed by an even better square drive through the gully.
India could have had a third wicket but Mooney survived and the DRS review by India goes in favour of the batter. The ball by Renuka Thakur jags in past the outside edge and hits the left-hander on the front pad. The ball tracker shows it is going down leg and the TV umpire rules to go with the umpire's call.
McGrath struck Renuka Thakur for two more fours -- a superb punch past point in the seventh over and then another one off a wide delivery in the ninth over. She also drilled a stunning cover drive off Vastrakar in the 10th over, a copybook shot with a long stride forward and the back knee bent perfectly.
McGrath, who was dropped on 18 when the ball burst through Deepti Sharma's hands at the second slip, rubbed salt into the wound by punching the next delivery through point for a boundary.
With the two pacers sending down 11 overs, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur introduced spin with off-spinner Sneha Rana and the left-arm orthodox Rajeshwari Gayakwad in successive overs. The spinners restricted the run flow.
Mooney and McGrath completed the half-century of their partnership off 67 balls with the opener contributing 14 runs while Tahlia added 56. The right-handed Tahlia, one of the top batters in white-ball cricket, completed the fastest half-century for Australia off 52 balls, hitting eight boundaries.
But just when it looked like Australia had taken control of the first session, Rana struck for India, getting Tahlia to play uppish flick towards midwicket. The batter fails to time it and Gayakwad jumps high to pluck a good catch, ending McGrath's superb innings.
Mooney, who held up one with a patient knock, used the DRS to good effect by getting an lbw decision in her favour as she tried to build a partnership with skipper Alyssa Healy, who opened her account with a superb six off Deepti Sharma after going scoreless for 12 deliveries.
But India made another breakthrough when Harmanpreet Kaur brought back Pooja Vastrakar for one the final over before lunch and the pacer struck off the final delivery before the break. Pooja pitched it short outside off and Mooney (40b, 2x4) tried to cut it but only managed to glove it to Sneh Rana at first slip.
Earlier, both India and Australia handed debuts to a player each in the first Test between the two countries in India in four decades. India brought in Richa Ghosh in place of Shubha Satheesh while Australia gave the first cap to the left-arm pacer Lauren Cheatle, who came in for Darcia Brown
Brief scores (At lunch):
Australia 103/4 in 29 overs (Beth Mooney 40; Tahlia McGrath 50; Pooja Vastrakar 2-29, Sneh Rana 1-12) against India.