India women’s team registered a historic first Test win over Australia in the one-off match in Mumbai on Sunday, beating Alyssa Healy’s side by 8 wickets at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. The result marked a fitting conclusion to India Women’s inaugural ‘home season’ of Test cricket in 28 years as they had already secured a 347-run win over England earlier this month in another one-off Test before the victory against Australia.
On the concluding day, India showcased their prowess with both, ball and the bat, to resist a determined Australian comeback. They initiated a collapse in the visitors’ lineup, claiming the remaining five wickets for just 28 runs. Subsequently, with little fuss, India chased down a modest target of 75 to clinch an eight-wicket victory. Smriti Mandhana, unbeaten at 38, and Jemimah Rodrigues, not out at 12, shared a warm embrace as they defeated a team that has dominated world cricket for long.
Despite the crushing loss, Aussie captain Healy displayed a heartwarming gesture after the match when she grabbed a camera and started capturing the Indian team’s celebratory moments following the presentation ceremony. Cricket Australia posted a short video of Healy clicking the pictures of Team India players celebrating the win.
In the post-match presentation, Healy spoke in detail about the moment. The Aussie skipper revealed that the cameramen were being pushed back, and so, she took one of the cameras and started capturing the winning moments.
“It wasn’t my camera, they were pushing the cameramen back. So, I thought I would give one of them an opportunity to get them nice and close. But I actually cut out half of the team by accident, so I don’t think they would be using that one!” Healy stated.
Watch:
Speaking further on the match, Healy said Australia’s squad has undergone a lot of change but they are comfortable with where they are currently placed.
“Within our group, we are really comfortable with where we are at and sort of the progression that we are on and where we we want to get to moving forward,” she said.
“Ultimately, there is a big T20 World Cup in Bangladesh towards the end of next year and that is a real carrot for us. These are the sort of big trophies that we are wanting to win.
“Yes, every series in between now and then is important, but at the same time, we are building towards that World Cup and we want to make sure that we are playing our best cricket to win those big those big moments.”