Australia captain Alyssa Healy captures India women’s team celebration, Image goes viral

Indian Women defeated Australian Women by eight wickets in the one-off test at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. On the final day, India chased down a modest total of 75, losing two wickets in the process.

Following the match, Australian captain Alyssa Healy was spotted capturing moments as the India women’s team celebrated with the winning trophy. Coming to the match, India dismissed Australia for 219 on the opening day. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana were instrumental at the top, while Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle order, along with Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar, made significant contributions, propelling India to a commanding 187-run lead.

Tahlia McGrath's resilient performance for Australia on day three was noteworthy, marking her second fifty of the match. Harmanpreet Kaur's crucial wickets in the final session of the penultimate day set the stage. Indian bowlers then efficiently took the last five wickets for just 28 runs in the morning session.

In pursuit of a modest 75, Shafali Verma departed early after scoring a boundary. However, the path to victory remained smooth. Despite Richa Ghosh's initial struggles and a couple of fortuitous boundaries, her partnership with Mandhana paved the way for India's triumph. 

We didn't want to go back to defensive cricket, we needed to stay in the moment: Harmanpreet Kaur

After the match Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur attributed the success to years of hard work and credited the support staff, particularly the bowling and batting coaches. Furthermore, she added that it has hard work for years which has translated into results in recent times. Besides, when it came to preparations and in-match strategy, Kaur iterated that her side kept things simple by sticking to basics and remaining patient during the game. Moreover, she also emphasized the team's commitment to playing positive cricket and staying in the moment, avoiding a defensive approach. Kaur praised the strategic decision to promote Richa Ghosh in the batting order. 

“We thought if we can play some positive cricket, it can really help us. We have been playing with this bunch for so many years and if we could do shuffle a bit here and there. We put Richa up, we know how she can bat, if she's there she can damage the game, that's the reason we put her there. We didn't want to go back to defensive cricket. We needed to stay in the moment. In the second innings, the partnerships helped them to put a decent total on the board,” she added.

Reflecting on the second innings, she highlighted the importance of partnerships and trust in the bowling unit. Specifically, Kaur pointed out the key role the bowling coach has played by urging and training bowlers to take wickets by showing an aggressive approach while on the field. Besides, the Indian captain also expressed gratitude to the BCCI, selectors, and the crowd, hoping for more Test games in the future.

“Our bowling coach is telling them about how to take wickets and not be defensive. That's really helping us. Firstly I want to thank BCCI for giving us this opportunity and secondly all our selectors - they have given us the best side and shown the trust in each and every member. When everything works together, you get positive results. Hopefully, we'll get many more Test games in upcoming years. Thanks to the crowd. Everything went really well for us,” Kaur concluded.