Not easy and we found out: Alyssa Healy after maiden Test defeat against India Women

India women’s cricket team recorded a historic win in a one-off Test against Australia at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, December 24. Harmanpreet Kaur-led India dominated in a four-day game with an 8-wicket triumph to register their first-ever Test win against the world no.1 Australian side.

It was a debut captaincy match for wicketkeeper batter Alyssa Healy who succeeded legendary Meg Lanning. Australia’s dominance in women’s cricket was recently halted by England in the 2023 Ashes and now a maiden Test defeat against India highlights a crack in the castle of glass.

Australia were bowled out on 219 runs in the first innings while Indian batters replied with 406 runs to take a mammoth lead. Tahlia McGrath’s big fifty helped Australia balance the game in the second innings but India captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s two-wicket spell in the third session ended their hopes for any comeback ahead of Day 4.

Healy struggled to make an impact with bat and gave India credit for their dominant win at Wankhede. Australian skipper highlighted the lack of runs by her team on Day 1 and said that a 300-run total would have made the difference.

“What an experience to come and play Test cricket,” Alyssa Healy said in a post-match presentation. “Not easy and we found out. Two or three more Tests could have been interesting. Except for the first day, we showed a lot of fight. It’s the first time we are playing red-ball cricket here, and we are learning on our feet. The girls have adjusted and performed well. Full credit to the Indian team, they just put too many runs on us. If we would have batted the first full day, we could have been in the game.

“Winning the toss and not putting the runs on the board and then leaking too many runs in the afternoon [cost us]. Around 300 would have been ideal. That’s the beauty of the game, have to execute all four days. We have to take the confidence from the conditions here in Wankhede. The opportunity to play a practice game and this Test have helped us adjust to the conditions.”

Both teams now will turn their attention towards white-ball cricket with three ODIs starting on December 28 at Wankhede and a three-match T20I series at DY Patil from January 5.

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