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India's women's team continued to dominate Australia on Day 2 as they assailed to a lead of 157 runs on Day 2 of the one-off Test here at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
At the end of Day 2, India managed to put up a total of 376/7 with Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar unbeaten with scores of 70(147)* and 33(115)* respectively. Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh dominated Australian bowlers with the bat, while Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar chipped in at the end to further bolster the position of the hosts on a tricky surface. Deepti and Pooja were still quite new to the conditions of the pitch when they returned to bat in the final session. But once they understood the aspects that were in play, they picked their moments and further asserted India's position in the driver's seat. Their unbeaten 102-run partnership eased the nerves after they dwindled a bit after Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh's 113-run stand ended. Before Tea, Jemimah and Richa exercised control but Ashleigh Gardner stepped up with the ball to completely turn around the momentum in the favour of the visitors. Both batters were still standing after the drinks break, dropping hints of their long stay at the crease with their composure. Gardner came in and struck thrice in quick succession to push India back and reignite hopes in Australia's camp. She removed Jemimah, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Yastika Bhatia in a span of eight overs. India still had a lead of 57 runs after the end of the second session. Earlier in the first session, in 33 overs that were bowled, India amassed 95 runs at a loss of 2 wickets. It was an evenly matched session, as Smriti and Sneh dealt the first 55 minutes with ease. Australia struck back, with Gardner dismissing Sneh (9) while Smriti ran herself out for 74. A bit of hesitation and then refusing to dive at the end marked her end on the crease. Her bat was close but to the line but not enough. Brief Score: Australia 219 (Tahlia McGrath 50, Beth Mooney 40; Pooja Vastrakar 4-53) vs India 376/7 (Smriti Mandhana 74, Jemimah Rodrigues 73, Deepti Sharma 70*; Ashleigh Gardner 4-100). (ANI)
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