Australian captain Alyssa Healy shared her disappointment following the defeat in the one-off Test against India's women's team. Nonetheless, Healy found the overall experience enjoyable and recognised the difficulties involved in adapting to the Test format. The Australian Women's team faced an eight-wicket loss to the Indian Women at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, December 24. India successfully pursued a modest target of 75 in the post-lunch session, with Smriti Mandhana delivering the decisive boundary that clinched the match.
Healy pointed out the challenges of engaging in a one-off Test under unfamiliar conditions, coupled with the limited opportunity to acclimate. She expressed great pride in her team, highlighting their resilience and the tenacious spirit they displayed throughout the game.
“At the end of the day, (it was) a really enjoyable experience,” Healy told reporters after Australia's defeat.
“It was tough work. We knew it was going to be hard work coming over here in particular playing a one-off Test, there’s no real time to learn to adapt, to find a style of play, so we knew it was going to be a tough ask but I’m really proud of our group and the fight that we showed,” she added.
The captain of the Australian team conveyed her wish for a three-match Test series, underscoring that participating in more Test matches would provide an exceptional experience and a true assessment of the abilities of both teams.
“That’s up to the BCCI and Cricket Australia as well to decide whether (multi-Test series are) on the cards or not. Imagine playing two more of these? I think that would be an unbelievable experience for our group and probably a true test of both sides’ abilities,” she said.
“I think the one-off Test match, India playing in their home conditions, you’d expect them to be heavy favorites, and the way that I think we tried to adapt and continued to learn throughout the four days was really impressive.”
“So we’d love to see more and more and I think it would create a real contest over three games, but the nature of the female game at the moment is it’s very white-ball dominant and trying to get fit it all into the calendar, and fit all the white-ball games in particular, seems to take precedence,” Healy concluded.
India effectively dismissed Australia for 219 runs in their first innings, with Tahlia McGrath contributing a notable 50 runs. Pooja Vastrakar led India's bowling attack impressively, achieving figures of 4/53. Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma also made significant contributions, taking three and two wickets respectively. The host team responded strongly, amassing 406 runs and establishing a commanding 187-run lead. Key performances came from Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma, who all scored half-centuries. For Australia, Ashleigh Gardner stood out, claiming four wickets. In their second innings, Australia was bowled out for 261 runs. Tahlia McGrath again played a vital role, scoring 73 runs. Sneh Rana continued her excellent form, taking four wickets, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Harmanpreet Kaur each claimed two wickets for India.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
'Toota hai Australia ka ghamand!': Ex-IPL champions after Harmanpreet Kaur's brigade clinch historic Test win over Aussies
'It wasn't that tough': Smriti Mandhana makes bold statement after India women's team's first Test win over Australia
