India Women chip away, but Australia stay ahead on pace-heavy day in Perth Test
India Today
INDW vs AUSW: Australia had a steady opening day and trail by 102 runs with seven wickets in hand in the pink-ball Test. However, India will feel they remain in the contest, with the WACA pitch offering significant assistance to the fast bowlers.
Australia have their noses slightly ahead of India after a pace-dominated opening day of the pink-ball Test at the WACA. A total of 13 wickets fell on Friday, 12 of which went to fast bowlers, as Australia trailed by 102 runs with seven wickets in hand. After bowling India out for 198, the hosts reached 96 for three at stumps.
Asked to bat first, India got off to a disastrous start as Smriti Mandhana departed cheaply. Lucy Hamilton, making her Test debut, removed the opener in the first hour to put India under early pressure. Pratika Rawal and Shafali Verma then began to build a partnership before Annabel Sutherland dismissed both batters in quick succession.
Australia vs India, Women's Test, Day 1 | Highlights | Scorecard
Pratika, who was also making her Test debut, scored 18 off 43 balls before edging one to the slip cordon off Sutherland, while Shafali made 35 before being dismissed. Thereafter, Jemimah Rodrigues held the fort with a gritty half-century that kept India moving forward in their innings. She scored 52 off 84 balls with seven fours before Hamilton accounted for her wicket.
This has got to be up there with some of the great first Test wickets in history!Lucy Hamilton goes straight through Smriti Mandhana @nrmainsurance | #PlayoftheDay | #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/lc7rHuOBDw— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 6, 2026
Hamilton also removed Sneh Rana to finish with impressive figures of 11-3-31-3. On a pitch that offered plenty of seam movement for the pacers, Sutherland also thrived, returning figures of 17-5-46-4 to emerge as the standout bowler of the day. Harmanpreet Kaur made an aggressive start with four boundaries before Darcie Brown cut short her knock at 19 off 15.
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