After a Historic Test Win, Smriti Mandhana Explains Why Batting 'Wasn't Hard' Against Australia in Mumbai

Smriti Mandhana sealed a historic 8-wicket win against Australia in Mumbai on Sunday. With 4 runs required in the chase of 75, she shimmied down the track and lofted a flighted ball from Jess Jonassen over her head for a boundary. The hosts stuck to the promise of playing ‘positive cricket’, weathered all mini storms along the way and largely dictated terms against fancied opponents in Australia.

There was no disparity in India’s performance against the mighty Aussies at the Wankhede Stadium, considering they were playing at home for the first time in almost a decade. In 40 Tests, India now have seven wins and six defeats, while 27 have been drawn.

Mandhana ended the game as the highest run-getter from the Indian camp, registering 74 and 38* in 2 innings. Speaking at the post-match show, she said the team had thought the track would turn out to be a rank turner but it actually favoured the batters.

“It wasn’t that tough. Before the match, we thought it was going to be a rank-turner on days 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 off beautifully with that cover drive,” Mandhana said.

Her partner at the winning moment, Jemimah Rodrigues was equally elated for the second consecutive Test victory for India. The youngster from Mumbai said it was the best possible gift for Christmas.

“Always wanted to play Test cricket. Nothing like winning two Tests back-to-back. Christmas has come early. I had set a few goals, one of which was to be consistent. I keep working hard, don’t think too much about results, I had to be consistent with my process,” Jemimah said after the match.

Australia were bundled out for 261 in their second innings, having scored a moderate 219 in their first essay after electing to bat.

On the other hand, India were supreme with the bat again as they made 406 in the first innings to also record their highest total ever against Australia in Tests.