‘It Wasn’t That Tough,’ Says Smriti Mandhana After India Women’s Historic Test Win Over Australia

New Delhi: After winning the historic test match against the Australian women’s cricket team, Indian opener Smriti Mandhana opened up about the Wankhede stadium pitch, saying that it was not difficult to bat on. Mandhana scored 38 runs off 61 balls in the second inning and guided her side to an 8-wicket win over Alyssa Healy’s side at the Iconic Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, December 24.

Harmanpreet Kaur-led India also defeated the Australian women’s side for the first time in test cricket history. She also joined the elite list of Indian skippers who have won the test matches at the Wankhede Stadium.

Indian Captains To Win Test Matches At Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai:

• 4 – Sunil Gavaskar
• 2 – Mohammad Azharuddin
• 2 – Virat Kohli
• 1 – Bishan Singh Bedi
• 1 – Sourav Ganguly
• 1 – Rahul Dravid
• 1 – MS Dhoni
• 1* – Harmanpreet Kaur

In the first session of day 04, the Indian bowling attack picked up the remaining five wickets of Australia by giving just 28 runs.
While chasing 75 runs, Shafali Verma (4 runs from 4 balls) started well and smashed a four but was dismissed by Kim Grath in the fourth ball of the first over.

India defeated Australia for the first time in Women’s Test history. pic.twitter.com/jhtwpBKvzN

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 24, 2023

However, the unbeaten knocks from Smriti Mandhana (38* runs from 61 balls) and Jemimah Rodrigues (12* runs from 15 balls) helped the hosts chase the target without any trouble and ended the match on day 04 by clinching an 8-wicket win. After her scintillating performance with both bat and ball, Sneh Rana was named the ‘Player of the Match’.

After winning the historic match, the left-handed opener expressed his thoughts on the Wankhede track, and she said that it was not that tough to bat. However, Mandhana also stated that the Indian side thought that it was going to be a rank-turner on days three and four.

“It wasn’t that tough. Before the match, we thought it was going to be a rank-turner on day three and four. But if you applied yourself and showed patience, batting wasn’t that hard. Credit to all the batters. I told Shafali to bat as we batted in the first innings. Just react to the ball, that was the only message we had. She was unfortunate, but she started of beautifully with that cover drive,” Mandhana said.