Mandhana created history with her ton as she became the first female Indian cricketer to score a Test century in Australia.
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On a rain-soaked Day 2 of the one-off day-night Test against Australia on Friday, Smriti Mandhana’s record Test century and Punam Raut’s walk-off stood out. Mandhana scored her first century in the longest format, but with thunderstorms expected after dinner, India’s batting approach allowed Australia to claw their way back into the game with three quick wickets on either side of the break. Lightning and rain arrived an hour before tea, forcing India to call it a day early for the second time in a row, with India on 276-5.
Mandhana had an ominous start to the afternoon when she drove a full-toss to point, only the second delivery she faced on this tour. Fortunately for her, despite a stunning one-handed catch by Beth Mooney, Australia were unable to take the wicket because Ellyse Perry had overstepped. Starting with an 80, Mandhana went on to break both the current records en route to her 127, putting on a show of crisp drives and cracking pulls.
When she pulled Perry for the second time in her fourth over of the day, she became the country’s first female Test centurion in Australia. Stella Campbell was next to be punished for bowling erroneous line and length as Mandhana attempted to break Molly Hide’s 72-year-old record by surpassing 124 to set a new personal best for a visiting female cricketer in Australia.
After a rather dull first hour on the field, Australia breathed a sigh of relief when Mandhana walked into Ashleigh Gardner’s trap. The off-spinner, who had the upper hand over the Indian opener, succeeded in luring her into driving a loopy delivery outside off straight to a silly mid-off stationed just for that offering, effectively ending her record second-wicket stand of 102 with Raut.
Gardner was Australia’s most impressive bowler of the session, finishing her extended first spell with figures of 10-6-11-1 to help Australia regain control as Mithali Raj settled in. But then Raut was fired in bizarre circumstances, just before the session ended. The India no. 3 walked off, believing she had nicked Sophie Molineux behind, despite the on-field umpire dismissing Australia’s half-hearted appeal. Australia took the new ball on cue to welcome debutant Yastika Bhatia, who bowled four overs to Dinner alongside skipper Raj, with India scoring 99 runs for two wickets.
Yastika, who had impressed with her technique in the previous ODIs, maintained her form to help India surpass the 250-run mark. She scored the majority of her 19 runs on debut when Australia generously sprayed it down leg, but she also lost her wicket to one such delivery, rushing into a flick. Though not her best performance, Perry was rewarded for a much-improved showing in her spell after dinner when Mooney put in another spectacular full stretch dive forward at gully to grab the leading edge barely inches above grass.
Despite expecting to lose significant overs due to the predicted storms, India had not attempted to increase the scoring rate since Mandhana’s departure, and Australia continued to chip away. Raj was the next victim, with Annabel Sutherland demonstrating her quick reflexes. After knocking the ball to short midwicket, India captain Mithali Raj called for a risky single but was beaten by a sharp direct hit from Sutherland after being turned down by a reluctant Deepti Sharma midpitch.
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