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Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur hailed the Indian women's cricket team as they secured their first-ever Test victory against Australia on Sunday.
Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar were the stars of the one-off Test against Australia at Wankhede Stadium, securing for India an eight-wicket win. Anurag took to X (formerly Twitter) to express happiness over India's unbeaten run in Test cricket. Before this Test, India had also secured a landmark 347-run win over England in Mumbai, which is the biggest margin of victory in Tests. "Simply Unstoppable! Many congratulations to our #WomenInBlue as they continue their winning streak and defeat Australia by wickets winning their first-ever test match against them. My best wishes to the Women cricket team as they continue to scale new heights and bring glory to the nation. Well done, girls," tweeted Anurag. https://twitter.com/ianuragthakur/status/1738866964087378132 Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. They were bundled out for 219 in their first inning. All-rounder Tahlia McGrath hit a fighting fifty (50 in 56 balls, with six fours) while Beth Mooney (40 in 94 balls, with two fours) and Healy (38 in 75 balls, with four boundaries and a six) also contributed useful scores. Pooja Vastrakar (4/53) and Sneh Rana (3/56) and Deepti Sharma (2/45) were the pick of the bowlers for India with the ball. India took a 187-run lead in the first inning, posting a massive 406/10, batting out 126.3 overs. Openers Shafali Varma (40 in 59 balls, with eight fours) and Smriti Mandhana (74 in 106 balls, with 12 fours) gave India a fine start. In the middle order/lower order, half-centuries came from Richa Ghosh (52 in 104 balls, with seven fours), Jemimah Rodrigues (73 in 121 balls, with nine fours) and Deepti Sharma (78 in 171 balls, with nine fours) and Vastrakar also contributed a vital 47 in 126 balls, with seven fours. Ashleigh Gardner (4/100) was the pick of the bowlers for the Aussies, while Kim Garth and Jess Jonassen took two wickets each. The Aussies could only gain a slender 74-run lead in the second inning as India bundled them out for just 261 runs. McGrath (73 in 177 balls, with 10 fours), Ellyse Perry (45 in 91 balls, with five fours), Mooney (33 in 37 balls, with seven fours) and Healy (32 in 101 balls, with one four) played crucial knocks for Australia. Sneh (4/63) was the pick of the bowlers for India. Rajeshwari Gayakwad and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur were also among the wickets, taking two wickets. Vastrakar got one wicket. India got 75 runs to chase. Despite the loss of two wickets, Smriti (38* in 61 balls, with six fours) controlled the chase well to win Women in Blue their second big Test of the year, following a big 347-run win over England previously. Sneh walked away with the 'Player of the Match' award. (ANI)
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