Punam Raut and Smriti Mandhana were the highlights of the second day of the Pink Ball Test between India and Australia on the Gold Coast on Friday. – Getty Images
Smriti Mandhana turned her overnight unbeaten 80 * into a well-deserved century, recording a slew of impressive stats along the way as India on the 2nd.
Here are the talking points from Game of the Day: FOLLOW SHE DAY 3 LIVE:
AUS-W vs IND-W Pink Ball Test Day 3 IND Live Score: 276/5: Taniya Bhatia, Deepti Sharma will resume innings, will India explain?
1. The weather gets in the way. Again, the two-day storm forecast for the Gold Coast was as forecast, with the weather on day 2 going a few steps further than what the metricon had received on day 1. A lightning alarm turned into a heavy shower, which then turned into a real hailstorm, turning the field into a huge puddle. Great props for the Carrara stadium facilities. Viewers at the venue and broadcaster shared pictures of the venue’s impressive drainage capacity, but it wasn’t enough to save the game after dinner. For women’s tests, 100 overs is the minimum requirement for a day, but in this game the teams have fought up to that mark and take two days to get there.
2. The four-day test debate: The lost time due to bad weather made many wonder whether the women’s tests should have a fifth day. Women traditionally play four-day games and calls for the male variant of the longest format have grown in recent years. England captain Heather Knight had spoken out in favor of five-day games at the end of the Ashes series in 2019 and most recently after a gripping one-off test against India in Bristol this year. As test cricket generally moves towards playing more and more for a result, the benefits of day five are not lost for anyone.
AUS-W vs IND-W Pink Ball Test Day 2 Highlights: The game was abandoned when India stumbled at 276/5 after the Mandhana Century
3rd Century Mandhanas: One for Record: An initial hiccup resulted in Mandhana sending a full litter from Ellyse Perry to Beth Mooney in the Gorge. The Indian start was lucky as Perry had gone too far. While there was doubt that Mooney grounded the catch, there was no need to look any further for the no-ball call. Mandhana was cautious from this point and came to her century in style after drawing Perry for a line again. Her century has achieved a number of firsts in addition to her first three-digit test scores. Mandhana will take a lot of positives from this inning as it makes up for many shortcomings from the past. She got off to a good start, anchored the Indian innings to a comfortable score despite the weather-related delays, and left the opponent at the end to try to dismiss her. Good days in the office for the southpaw.
4. To walk or not to run: Punam Raut sparked a massive debate among fans when she was sacked by Sophie Molineux in the 81st. The spinner sent a throw that fished outside the tree stump, and in defense Raut thought she had bent the ball to Alyssa Healy behind the stump. The referee didn’t say, but Punam didn’t wait for anyone and walked away. Since women’s games, and especially this one, have no DRS, Punam had the opportunity to stay in the goal area. Repetitions also seemed to suggest that benefit from doubt might have gone Punam’s way. She was greeted with applause in the pavilion for playing in the « spirit of the game, » but many couldn’t understand why she failed to hold up and save her wicket. While bringing in the moral rights and wrongs of this call may be a gray area dive, there is no doubt that she thought she was out and left with no fuss. Punam still has to address this himself.
Punam Raut doesn’t reveal unbelievable scenes, but Indian number 3 leaves! #AUSvIND | @CommBank pic.twitter.com/xfAMsfC9s1
5. Pacers fight again, Sutherland impressed: While Ashleigh Gardner had to start the procedure on the second day because of an unfinished overs from the previous day, Meg Lanning relied on her pace battery again to get the ball rolling on day two of the test. Once again, this didn’t work, with Raut and Mandhana looking comfortable in the middle. It took the weirdos to get the Indians’ innings into a stranglehold, with Gardner even stepping in to remove Mandhana. Georgia Wareham had some time with the ball and despite the wicketless was impressive with the amount of spin she got.
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