Skipper Minnu Mani and Priya Mishra dismantle Australia A, followed by a resilient response from the batters as the visitors take Day 1 honours
The Minnu Mani-led side managed to register their first victory on this tour to Australia, courtesy of a thrashing 171-run victory in the 3rd One Day. The victory would have definitely lifted the morale in the Indian camp ahead of the only four-day, red-ball fixture of this tour.
Tahlia McGrath led the home side in the white-ball formats, however, Charli Knott took over the leadership duties in the red-ball format courtesy of the absence of the Australian vice-captain. The Australian A skipper Charli Knott won the toss and opted to bat first at the Kerrydale Oval, Gold Coast.
The Australian A openers Georgia Voll and Emma de Broughe got their side off to a good start with a solid 56-run opening partnership. Priya Mishra cleaned up Emma de Broughe to provide the first breakthrough for India A. The home side lost a couple of wickets in quick succession, including the wicket of their skipper Charli Knott to bring India A firmly back into the contest.
Tess Flintoff joined Georgia Voll at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 26-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Australia A suffered a mini collapse as they lost their next three wickets for just 17 runs. Kate Peterson joined Maitlan Brown at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 27-run partnership for the 7th wicket. Skipper Minnu Mani picked up the wicket of Maitlan Brown to provide the 7th breakthrough for India A. Lilly Miles soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 8th breakthrough for India A.
Grace Parsons joined Kate Peterson at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 60-run partnership for the 9th wicket to take their side past the 200-run mark. Skipper Minnu Mani returned and picked up the wicket of Grace Parsons to provide the 9th breakthrough for her side. Australia A were eventually bundled out for 212 runs in 65.6 overs. Georgia Voll (71 off 95 balls), Grace Parsons (35 off 55 balls), Maitlan Brown (30 off 49 balls), and Kate Peterson (26 off 87 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Australia A.
Skipper Minnu Mani (21-2-58-5), Priya Mishra (20.5-3-58-4), and Mannat Kashyap (11-1-35-1) were the top performers with the ball for India A. India A got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their opening batter Priya Punia in the 7th over of the innings. Maitlan Brown provided the first breakthrough for Australia A. Shubha Satheesh joined Shweta Sehrawat at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 34-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side close to the 50-run mark.
Kate Peterson picked up the wicket of Shubha Satheesh to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Tejal Hasabnis joined Shweta Sehrawat at the crease and the duo took their side into a solid position with another crucial, unbeaten 53-run partnership to take their side to the 100-run mark. The duo saw the day through with India A trailing by 112 runs at the end of the first day’s play.