India 1/132 (Mandhana 81*, Molineux 1/18)
A rain-affected opening day of the Test between Australia and India saw a breathtaking performance from Smriti Mandhana, as well as some costly errors in the field from Australia.
The visitors finished the disrupted day at 1/132, with Sophie Molineux the only Aussie to take a wicket.
Here are the major talking points from Day 1 with Sporting News' Melinda Farrell and Aussie star Jess Jonassen.
1. Debutants Galore
“There were a total of six in the whole game – two in the Indian camp and four in the Australian camp," Jonassen said.
"Cap presentations and debuts are always really special moments to be a part of and I think it might have also been Elysse Perry’s 200th game for Australia today.
"You put that on top of the multiple cap presentations and see Mitchell Starc in the set-up and he was able to present a cap.
"It’s always such a special moment and we probably saw the nerves of all those debutants come out to play in the first day."
2. Australia’s costly errors
“Obviously the Australians will be very disappointed with their fielding efforts," Jonassen said.
"We saw at the back-end of the ODI series that some poor fielding came into both sides, and it was going to be something that both teams were going to want to rectify coming into this Test.
"We can’t count out that this is a pink ball and it’s in a new stadium as well. It is quite difficult to pick up the pink ball in those red seats at Metricon Stadium.
"At the same time, some of them – Meg Lanning’s was a real sharp chance – but the one with Annabel Sutherland, she takes that nine times out of 10.
"It was just unfortunate in that moment; she slightly took her eyes off the ball.
"It does take a little bit of adjusting to the different coloured balls."
3. Smriti shines
“Even the chances Australia missed, none of them were off Smriti Mandhana’s bat," Jonassen said.
"Even though she mistimed a few shots or what not, she was still relatively in control. More often than not, her shots are well and truly controlled and she’s probably one of the best batters ever to be able to pick up lengths quickly.
"She’s so strong off the back foot as well and has one of the most elegant cover drives we have ever seen. I like the look of real classy left-handed batters, but she is so good off both the back foot – balls don’t have to be that short, she hit Tahlia McGrath for six and multiple boundaries as well.
"Her placement and the way she times the ball – we need to play more Test match cricket to see the likes of Smriti Mandhana playing that way in a format that really suits her.
4. Rain rain go away
“I’d love them (five-day Tests) - historically in the women’s game there’s a lot more draws in matches or no results, as opposed to wins or losses," Jonassen said.
"An extra day or even an extra half a day a lot of times would have forced a result in a lot of those games. If you didn’t have five-day Test matches, even if you had a reserve day for situations like this, where two whole sessions are wiped out.
"When you’re already one day shorter than the men’s Test matches, it makes it very challenging. Both teams want to play an attacking brand of cricket and both teams want to win, particularly in the multi-format series where there are points involved.
"It’s silly if a team just tries to draw it, because you set yourself up for T20 cricket which can go either way.
"As a player, the short answer is yes, I would love five-day Tests."
See below for the full review of Day 1 of the Test match between Australia and India.
