Alyssa Healy concluded her international career by leading Australia to a commanding 12-4 victory in the multi-format series against India, with the home side securing a dominant 10-wicket triumph during the morning session of Day 3 at the WACA Test. Australia Secured An Easy Win Over India .
TOSS
Australia Women won the toss and elected to field first.
PLAYING XI
India Women (Playing XI):
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Sayali Satghare, Kranti Gaud
Australia Women (Playing XI):
Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Voll, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy(c), Annabel Sutherland, Beth Mooney(w), Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Alana King, Lucy Hamilton, Darcie Brown
DAY 1
Australia’s choice to bowl first in the standalone pink-ball Test at WACA Ground delivered instant rewards as they restricted India to 198 runs during the opening day’s play. This historic match marked Alyssa Healy’s farewell appearance, and the Australian fast bowlers capitalised on Perth’s renowned pace and bounce to maintain relentless pressure on the touring side. Annabel Sutherland emerged as the standout performer with impressive figures of 4-46, while teenage debutant Lucy Hamilton announced herself on the international scene with remarkable 3-31 returns using her accurate left-arm seam bowling.
India’s batting effort lacked rhythm from the beginning after Smriti Mandhana fell to Hamilton’s delivery for a mere four runs. Shafali Verma offered temporary resistance with a brisk 35 from 48 deliveries, striking six boundaries before edging Sutherland to the wicketkeeper. Although newcomer Pratika Rawal (18) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (19) showed promise initially, both succumbed to Australia’s persistent bowling attack without building substantial scores.
Jemimah Rodrigues emerged as India’s most resilient batter in the middle order, crafting a patient 52 to provide stability, particularly during a valuable 43-run partnership with Richa Ghosh (11). Nevertheless, Rodrigues’ departure triggered a devastating collapse that saw India surrender three wickets for merely seven runs. A determined unbeaten 34 from debutant Kashvee Gautam helped India approach the 200-run milestone before their innings concluded.
Australia’s batting reply encountered stern examination under floodlights from India’s youthful pace attack. Sayali Satghare, making her debut, delivered an exceptional opening for India by dismissing Georgia Voll for just two runs during her second Test cricket over.
India’s fast bowlers extracted considerable movement from the pink ball, creating substantial difficulties for Australia’s seasoned batting lineup. Kranti Gaud maintained exceptional economy throughout her spell, recording figures of 11-2-28-1. Phoebe Litchfield battled against the moving ball before eventually falling to Gaud’s bowling for 9 runs from 39 deliveries.
Ellyse Perry and Healy worked to survive a challenging final session, but Satghare returned to dismiss the Australian captain economically during the first innings of her farewell match. Perry, who remained undefeated on 43, then partnered with Sutherland (20*) to guide the hosts through the day’s conclusion without further setbacks. Australia concluded Day 1 positioned at 96/3, trailing by 102 runs.
DAY-2
Australia’s overnight batting pair Perry and Sutherland continued their innings further without facing any trouble itself. As per the match situation, both batsmen looked very comfortable and kept hitting the bad balls to keep scoring runs regularly. Perry completed her half-century by hitting a six off Sneh Rana’s bowling, as per the first over of spin bowling. This happened regarding the spin bowling phase of the match. Sutherland actually did the same thing right after the drinks break. He definitely followed the same pattern. Perry actually reached a couple of important points in his journey. He definitely achieved some major goals after that. She surely became only the second Australian player to score 1000 Test runs. Moreover, she remains the only Australian cricketer to achieve both 1000 runs and 30 wickets in Test cricket. After getting to 75 runs with a boundary hit, we are seeing her go past Karen Rolton to become the country’s top run-scorer in this format only.
Basically, India gave Mooney a couple of chances but she couldn’t use them properly, and Rana finally got her wicket in the same 15th over. Kranti Gaud surely delivered another major strike by dismissing Ash Gardner for merely one run. Moreover, this created a double setback for the opposing team. Basically, Sutherland got out right after the drinks break in the second session, and Deepti took her second wicket the same innings. Further, part-timer Shafali Verma further contributed by dismissing Tahlia McGrath for 13 runs off 32 balls. The wicket itself marked Verma’s first success with the ball.
We are seeing that Alana King and Hamilton made a good partnership of 34 runs for the ninth wicket which only troubled India, but Sayali Satghare came back with the new ball in the final session and took the last two wickets quickly, so Australia’s lead stayed at only 125 runs. Satghare actually bowled the best, taking 4 wickets for 50 runs. He definitely helped reduce the damage after his team was fielding for more than two sessions. India’s batting surely collapsed in the final session, moreover the team lost crucial wickets at important moments.
Moreover, smriti Mandhana surely started well with two quick runs in the second innings, but she was dismissed on the very next ball. Darcie Brown bowled a delivery that moved back sharply, and the Indian vice-captain further chopped the ball onto her stumps itself for the second time in this pink-ball Test. As per the bowling arrangement, Lucy Hamilton shared the new ball and got Shafali Verma out caught behind regarding her innings of five runs from five balls.
Sutherland surely entered the bowling attack during the eighth over, moreover he took a wicket on the final delivery. Pratika Rawal asked for review regarding the LBW decision but it stayed out. As per the next two balls in same over, Jemimah Rodrigues tried risky ramp shot and India lost three wickets on 38 runs. Harmanpreet Kaur also played a bad shot as per the bowling line and edged to second slip for 11 runs. Regarding her dismissal, she should have left that ball alone but poked at it to give Sutherland her second wicket.
Sneh Rana joined with Pratika Rawal (43 not out) to help their team reach stumps without further loss. The partnership itself saved the day for them. Also, we are seeing both players making only 23 runs together for the seventh wicket, with India trying hard to save the match from losing badly. Basically, they need 20 more runs to make Australia bat again, but the same will only happen if their remaining batsmen fight hard.
DAY-3
India was in trouble at 105/6 in their second innings, still 20 runs behind at the end of Day 2, and the situation itself looked difficult to recover from further. Pratika Rawal is India’s number one player and she further established herself as a key performer in the tournament itself. As per the match situation, the number 3 batsman came to bat on the third ball and fought alone to give India a small lead, making sure the team did not lose by innings defeat.
The batter was unbeaten on 43 overnight and further scored her first fifty in the second innings of her Test debut itself. Her partner Sneh Rana got lucky early and then we are seeing her take India ahead with only a boundary shot that went to the fence off Alana King’s bowling.
Gardner surely entered the bowling attack after 10 overs of the session, moreover she achieved a breakthrough almost at once. As per the match situation, Rana was dropped for the second time that day but regarding the very next ball, she got out. Moreover, as per the bowling delivery, Rana got out for 30 runs when the ball hit his stumps after missing the bat’s edge. This happened just after the partnership regarding both batsmen had crossed 50 runs. Basically, King got Kashvee Gautam out when Healy caught her at slip the same over, making it two wickets for the visitors.
Rawal and Sayali Satghare made a small partnership of 16 runs, but both players got out quickly one after another, which further left Australia with an easy target of just 25 runs to chase. Moreover, phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Voll needed some time to settle but then they scored the target quickly with many boundaries in just 4.3 overs. The batting itself was very effective and further helped them win easily.
Brief Scores:
India actually scored 198 runs in their first innings with Jemimah Rodrigues making 52 runs, but Australia’s bowlers Annabel Sutherland and Lucy Hamilton took most wickets. Australia definitely won by 10 wickets after scoring 323 runs in their first innings, with Sutherland making 129 runs and Perry scoring 76 runs.
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