25 December,2023 07:00 AM IST | Mumbai | G Krishnan
India players celebrate their Test triumph over Australia with the trophy at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday. Pic/AFP
Harmanpreet Kaur achieved what her predecessors Shantha Rangaswamy, Shubhangi Kulkarni, Sandhya Agarwal and Mithali Raj could not.
On Sunday, Kaur led India to a historic first victory over Australia, by eight wickets, in 11 Tests dating back to 1977. It was her first dig as a Test captain against Australia at the Wankhede after leading the same side to a record 347-run win over England on her captaincy debut the previous week at DY Patil Stadium.
Rangaswamy, Kulkarni, Agarwal and Mithali led India in Tests against Australia previously, but tasted defeat. There were been six drawn Tests too. But, with changing times and more exposure in the form of white-ball cricket and T20 leagues, the current team are playing fearless cricket and going all out to register wins against all odds.
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It was this character that saw them post successive wins in what was the first time in recent years that the Indian team were playing two back-to-back Tests, though against different opponents. It was also the first time that India registered two wins on the trot in such a short span, though they did have three straight victories, but in a vast span - Aug 2006 against England, August 2014 against England and November 2014 against South Africa.
India reached the victory target of 75 on a pitch that continued to have variable bounce. They completed the formalities 35 minutes post lunch after bowling out the remaining five Australian wickets in 75 minutes for an additional 28 runs earlier in the day.
The Indian spinners, right-armer Sneh Rana (4-63) and left-armer Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2-42) wasted little time in bundling out the second half of the Australian second innings earlier on Sunday. Rana was on a hat-trick, removing the dangerous-looking Annabel Sutherland caught behind, which required a DRS intervention after umpire N Janani negated the appeal. The next ball, Alana King was bowled, the ball rolling on to the stumps off her ineffective front foot defence.
Gayakwad completed the rout, taking two wickets in each of the two overs she bowled on the day, though coming almost after an hour into the morning session. Kim Garth was beaten marginally by the turn from Gayakwad and Jeff Jonassen was done in through the gap between bat and pad, both getting bowled.
India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana ensured India did not panic in the run chase, scoring 38 not out. She hit the winning runs, a lofted drive off left-arm spinner Jonassen to the long-on boundary.
Player of the match Rana, who had match figures of 7-119, said: "The victorious feeling cannot be described in words. It feels good. We are very fortunate to play two back-to-back Tests in home conditions and win against the two best teams in the world with good margins. Wish we get to play more Tests in the future. This is a very big moment for us and also the fans. To all the fans who supported us, a big thank you."
She credited head coach Amol Muzumdar for the crucial role in guiding this team after taking over recently. "Amol sir has been an experienced player, his inputs have been good. We tried to do what was planned and you could see the results in both Tests."
Brief scores
Australia 219 and 261 (T McGrath 73, E Perry 45; S Rana 4-63, H Kaur 2-23) lost to India 406 & 75-2 (Smriti Mandhana 38') by 8 wickets
