Debutant Lucy Hamilton picked up her maiden Test wicket with a sharp inswinger, dismissing Smriti Mandhana for four in the one-off Test between India and Australia at Perth.
Australia won the toss and opted to bowl first in the pink-ball Test match between the two countries, being held at the WACA Ground in Perth. India opened with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Varma, but the duo were unable to leave much of an impact, with the left-hander falling in the sixth over of the innings.
She was up against newcomer Lucy Hamilton, a 19-year-old left-arm quick, who made her ODI debut against India earlier on the tour. Hamilton sent down a fuller delivery that came back in sharply, which Mandhana looked to defend. However, the ball found the big bat-pad gap, crashing into the middle stumps, as Mandhana fell for a 13-ball four.
Pratika Rawal, who walked out at No.3, then eased the nerves with a boundary off the second ball she faced against Hamilton. She was the second batter to be dismissed, falling for 18 (35), off the bowling of Annabel Sutherland.
India slipped to 84-4 in 22.5 overs, with Shafali (35 in 48) and Harmanpreet Kaur (19 in 15) becoming the other batters to get dismissed.
One-off Test, Australia Women vs India Women
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India need to win Test to draw level in the multi-format series
The ongoing series has points at stake in each of the matches across all three formats - two each for a win in ODIs and T20Is, and four points for grabs in the Test match. India won the T20I series, 2-1, winning four points, but were whitewashed in the ODI series, to go down 8-4. The ongoing Test, thus, gains importance: A win here for India will help them grab four points, and draw level 8-8.
India have played 11 Tests against Australia in history, winning just one - the last encounter between the two sides, at the Wankhede Stadium, in December 2023.
Watch Smriti Mandhana get bowled by Lucy Hamilton here
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