Key events
The ultimate brain fade from Beth Mooney.
Even though the Aussies are on the back foot in this match, it’s an engrossing battle.
And I’m sure regardless of the result, it won’t be 40 years until we’re back for the next Test. #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/7D8m7mOaub
— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) December 23, 2023
Lunch: Australia 63-2 (trail India by 124 runs)
17th over: Australia 63-2 (Perry 7, McGrath 1) Deepti sends down a testing maiden, McGrath content to batten down the hatches for lunch. An absorbing morning of cricket, Australia polished off the last three India wickets in good time this morning and were going well at 49-0 when Beth Mooney decided to take an ill advised wander out of her crease. Litchfield fell shortly afterwards and India ramped up the pressure in the run up to the interval. The home side well on top.
16th over: Australia 63-2 (Perry 7, McGrath 1) Close! Perry defends with hard hands, the ball flicks the inside half of her bat and flies to Richa at short leg who can’t cling on. Tough chance but seen them taken. That would have been a huge scalp for India on the stroke of lunch. Perry gets another edge through the slips and picks up two. It’s all happening.
15th over: Australia 60-2 (Perry 5, McGrath 0) Vastrakar serves up a gift of a full toss and Perry obliges by bunting down the ground for four. Five dots complete the over.
Here’s that Beth Mooney Wicket sponsored by Walkabout…
Nope, me neither.
14th over: Australia 56-2 (Perry 1, McGrath 0) Tahlia McGrath joins Perry in the middle, two new batters at the crease as Harmanpreet brings Vastrakar back into the attack. She skittled Perry in the first innings remember. Good, aggressive captaincy from the Indian skipper.
WICKET! Phoebe Litchfield b Rana 18 (Australia 56-2)
So much for reaching the safe harbour of lunch unscathed… Litchfield messes up a reverse sweep and chops the ball onto her stumps!
13th over: Australia 50-1 (Litchfield 13, Perry 0) I’m still so confused by that Mooney wicket, she clearly saw the ball went into Ghosh’s hands at short leg, can’t fathom why she then went for a trot out of her crease. I’ll find a clip so you can help me out. Litchfield clips a single to bring up the Australia 50.
WICKET! Beth Mooney run out (Ghosh) 33 (Australia 49-1)
Loud appeal from Rana and her teammates but the ball was sliding down past the stumps and India know it, sagely choosing not to review. GONE NOW THOUGH! What a bizarre dismissal it is too! Rana appeals for another LBW, in the process of which Mooney wanders out of her crease and Richa Ghosh throws down the stumps from short leg. Brain fade from Beth Mooney who walks straight off. India have the breakthrough!
12th over: Australia 49-1 (Litchfield 12, Perry 0)
11th over: Australia 43-0 (Mooney 27, Litchfield 12) Deepti Sharma replaces Renuka so it’ll be spin form both ends as lunch looms on the horizon. Can Australia make it there unscathed, they’ll breathe a bit easier if they do. The deficit is still a chunky 144 runs after Litchfield dances down and lofts over the infield for a couple.
10th over: Australia 41-0 (Mooney 27, Litchfield 10) Rana twirls away after drinks, can she find that devilish spot from the over before? A tidy over is defended well by Litchfield who is rewarded with three off the last ball to a measured straight drive down the ground.
9th over: Australia 38-0 (Mooney 27, Litchfield 7) Mooney opens the face to glide a length ball from Renuka wide of point for four. Time for a drink, big fat shot of Kenco for me. Something less sludgy for the players no doubt.
8th over: Australia 34-0 (Mooney 23, Litchfield 7) Sneh Rana into the attack to replace Vastrakar, Australia can pat themselves on the back that they’ve seen off the in form pacer’s first spell. Mooney sweeps a full toss for four behind leg. That was a loopy loosener. My days! The next ball dies in the surface and near enough rolls along the floor. You don’t want to get one of those straight on the stumps, if you’re a batter that is. Shades of Nasser Hussain pea rolled by Carl Hooper.
Play that!
7th over: Australia 27-0 (Mooney 18, Litchfield 5) Careful… Litchfield drives uppishly, the ball reaches mid off on the bounce. Australia can’t afford to gift any wickets here, the pitch looks benign and good for batting. They have to make India toil for a day in the dirt if they are going to get anything at all out of this game. Close! Renuka gets one to hoop back and it evades both the stumps and Bhatia stood up to the stumps. Four byes to the total.
6th over: Australia 23-0 (Mooney 18, Litchfield 5) Vastrakar angles one past Litchfield and beats the outside edge. Litchfield plays two delicious drives but both skid along the turf straight to the fielders in the covers. A nudge down the ground gets her a scampered single. Shot! Mooney swivels a short ball fine for four.
5th over: Australia 18-0 (Mooney 14, Litchfield 4) Mooney looks solid, keeping a probing Renuka at bay. Shed does miss out on a full toss though, scything straight to the fielder in the covers. Maiden over.
4th over: Australia 18-0 (Mooney 14, Litchfield 4) Vastrakar stitches together five dots to keep Litchfield sitting on a pair after her diamond duck run out in the first innings… that’ll do! A well timed clip into the leg side brings Litchfield four and her first runs in the Test match. Pair be gone!
3rd over: Australia 14-0 (Mooney 14, Litchfield 0) Renuka is around the wicket and zoning in on Mooney’s front pad. Mooney is watchful but cashes in on a full toss, driving away in a controlled fashion to pick up her third boundary.
2nd over: Australia 10-0 (Mooney 10, Litchfield 0) Here comes Vastrakar, she’s been devastating in her opening spells of late. She goes full in search of movement and the stumps, Mooney greets it with a flowing blade – the ball skimming through the covers for four. Shot! Another half volley served up by Vastrakar and Mooney punches down the ground in style!
1st over: Australia 1-0 (Mooney 1, Litchfield 0) Renuka Singh to start the with the shiny new orb, a hint of movement off the pitch. Two slips and a gully in place. Mooney works to leg to open the account on the Aus second innings.
No time for a second coffee of the wee small hours at this end. Here come the players after a rapid turnaround. Mooney and Litchfield to open up for Australia, they’ll be hoping for a better start than they had in the first innings… Litchfield particularly.
India all out for 406 – a lead of 187 runs
Polished off! Renuka Singh looked very uncomfortable against the short stuff and sure enough she plinks a simple catch to Ash Gardner off another bumper from Sutherland.
Over to Australia to bat themselves back into this game, it’s going to take something special from here. Shout out to Ash Gardner who picked up four wickets in the innings and got through an impressive 41 overs of graft.
WICKET! Deepti Sharma b Garth 78 (India 402-9)
Garth loses her radar and spears one down the leg side that Healy does well to get a glove on stood up to the stumps, four byes narrowly avoided. That’s better! A full ball scuds through Sharma as the batter looks to work to leg, stumps splayed and a fantastic knock from Deepti comes to a close. Australia picking up two quick wickets this morning, wicket maiden for Garth. Rajeshwari Gayakwad is India’s last batter.
126th over: India 402-8 (Renuka 4, Gayakwad 0)
125th over: India 402-8 (Deepti 78, Renuka 4) Sutherland is resolutely whanging the ball into the middle of the wicket, Australia going with some fire and brimstone on the morning of day three. Deepti gets inside the line and paddles away for a single. Eeesht! Renuka gets a top edge for four with a highly unconvincing pull shot but the end result is 400 up for India.
124th over: India 397-8 (Deepti 77, Renuka 0) Garth, fresh off pouching the catch to remove Vastrakar, wheels in again under fiery Mumbai sunshine. Renuka Singh is the new batter for India. Deepti inches closer to the milestone of three figures with a single through the covers.
WICKET! Vastrakar c Garth b Sutherland 47 (India 396-8)
Shot! Sutherland digs in another short ball and Vastrakar greets it with a swivel-pull that skims away for four behind square. Short again, Vastrakar tries the same thing but the ball gets big on her and she top edges over Healy behind the stumps for another boundary… GONE this time! Third short ball in a row and Vastrakar guides into the hands of Garth at square leg. The plan works, eventually, for Australia.
123rd over: India 396-8 (Deepti 75, Renuka 0)
122nd over: India 387-7 (Deepti 75, Vastrakar 39) Garth serves up a juicy full bunger on leg stump, Deepti misses out on the boundary as Ellyse Perry pulls off a nifty dive at wide mid on. A couple of well judged singles follow, India continuing on their merry way so far this morning.
121st over: India 384-7 (Deepti 73, Vastrakar 38) Annabel Sutherland starts at the other end and she’s bending her back and testing out the middle of the pitch. Vastrakar and Deepti rotate strike to take three singles off it.
120th over: India 381-7 (Deepti 71, Vastrakar 37) Garth chugs in for the first one of the day, three dots before Deepti shuffles across and clips for one to get herself a single. A slip and gully in place for Australia, Vastrakar gets a meaty edge off a length ball and it runs away wide of slip for four runs. Still looks a belting pitch to bat on at the Wankhede.
Here we go then, Kim Garth has the ball in hand for Australia, quick wickets the order of the day for the visitors and then a day of batting. India will have other ideas, particularly Deepti and Vastrakar who played so well last evening. Bright and sunny in Mumbai, dark and quiet here in London. Let’s play!
The players are readying on the boundary edge in Mumbai, time to make a quick (and strong) coffee and we’ll be underway in just over five minutes.
Day three will be underway in about 20 minutes time. Is there a way back into this match for Australia?
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the day three OBO of India v Australia at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, to say Australia have it all to do is an understatement. India dominated proceedings on day two, accumulating their way to 376-7 to put themselves well and truly in command, a lead of 157 runs on first innings with three wickets still to burn.
The final session in particular was a killer for Alyssa Healy’s side, as Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar kept the visitors at bay for the entirety, stretching the lead by 100 runs and batting the Aussies into the red Mumbai dust. Will day three bare witness to a dramatic turnaround or will it be more of the same? We’ll find out soon enough.
Play gets underway at 9.30am local time, 3.30pm AEDT and 4am UK time. Join us…
