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India's opening batter Smriti Mandhana ruled out that it was tough to bat on the Wankhede pitch on Day 3 and Day 4 following India's record Test win over Australia on Sunday in the one-off Test clash.
Smriti was instrumental throughout the four-day affair, with the bat and even with her presence on the field. The left-handed batter scored 74 in the first innings and went unbeaten (36*) in the second innings as India chased down the paltry target of 74. She decoded their approach with the bat which allowed them to put a mammoth total of 406 on the board in the first innings. "It wasn't that tough. When we saw the wicket before the match, we thought it was going to be a rank-turner on day three and four. But if you applied yourself, showed patience and waited for loose balls, batting wasn't that hard. Credit to all the batters. In the first innings, the way Deepti and Pooja got us back in the game, I think that was the partnership for me that won us the game," Smriti said after the match. "(Gameplan for the second innings) I told Shafali that we'll just bat the way we batted in the first innings. Just watch the ball and play, nothing too fancy, nothing too defensive. Just react to the ball because we both bat the best when we just react to the ball. So that was the only message we had. She was unfortunate, but she started off beautifully with that cover drive," Smriti added. Coming to the clash, Australia skipper Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to bat. India bowlers managed to restrict them at a score of 219. In reply, India posted 406 runs on the board and assailed to a 197-run lead. England in reply could only muster up 261 runs on the board managing to set a target of 73 runs for the hosts. Smriti Mandhana's 74, Jemimah's 73 and Deepti Sharma's 78 laid the foundation for the mammoth score India were able to post in the first innings. India managed to chase down the total comfortably and emerge victorious in the one-off Test. (ANI)
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