Team India is slowly and gradually pushing Australia out of the game in the one-off Test here at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The hosts started with a stellar bowling performance, courtesy Pooja Vastrakar’s four wickets, and then they followed it with a clinical performance with the bat. Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues scored a good half-century each but they couldn’t convert it into a big one.
India playing quality cricket is nothing new. It is Australians playing submissive cricket that has left the fans confused. The Australian women’s cricket team is considered the best women’s team in international cricket by many fans and even critics. Their team is considered as a storm that blows away every team that comes in their way.
But every storm has an epicentre from where it originates and gets all the power from. The epicentre of this Australian storm was Meg Lanning. Every time the team was under pressure, they turned to Lanning who always had a solution. It’s been a month since Lanning announced her retirement from International cricket.
“THE ‘MEG’A ABSENCE”
The absence of their former leader was felt in the last hour of Day 1 and throughout the second day of the Test. India had good partnerships in between and during that phase, Australia looked a bit all over the place.
It would be harsh to judge Alyssa Healy, the successor of Lanning, as this is her first match as Australia’s full-time captain. There were a lot of times when short and quick meetings were held in between overs with Healy in the middle. There were so many such meetings that at one point it felt like they were deciding how to call Lanning back. While every player turned to Healy, she herself had no one to turn to.
It would be unfair to say that Healy was not proactive. She talked to her bowlers before every over and discussed what could be done. She has been doing her best as a leader but it may take time for this Australian side to get used to Lanning’s absence.
As Healy herself said ahead of this one-off Test, she is filling big shoes in this team. It is not an easy task to succeed a successful captain. You will be compared at every step. It will never be ‘How will Healy lead this side?’, rather it will always be ‘Will Healy be able to lead this side as successfully as Lanning?’. That is a tough spot for any new captain, ask Virat Kohli.
“SHE’S GOT A LOT OF SUPPORT”
Australian coach Shelley Nitschke backed Healy’s captaincy.
“I think she handles it really well,” Shelley told the media during the press conference on Day 2.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s obviously been a tough Test match for us so far. We probably haven’t played our best cricket. She’s sort of always good to have a chat to at the breaks and tries her best to do what we can to change the game around. So, you know, I think she handles the pressure really well,” Shelley said.
“She has a big workload being the keeper as well as the captain, which isn’t easy. But I think she handles it extremely well and she’s got a lot of support from some senior players out there as well,” the coach added.
Leading any international side is not a cakewalk but it’s extra tough when you are carrying forward a legacy. Healy’s captaincy stint has begun with a huge challenge and she’ll have to be at her absolute best to overcome it.
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