3 top Indian performers from India 'A' Women red-ball game vs Australia A Women ft. Shweta Sehrawat
The only unofficial Test between India A Women and Australia A Women took place from August 22-25 at Gold Coast, Australia. Minnu Mani and Charli Knott captained the Indian and Australian teams, respectively.
The hosts batted first and got a 56-run opening stand between Emma de Broughe (12) and Georgia Voll. The key batters could not support Voll well as she compiled a 95-ball 71-run knock. Nevertheless, the lower order was impressive to provide hefty contributions, with Grace Parsons (35) leading the charge to boost the team's total to 212.
In response, the Indian team had decent starts from a few of the batters, but could not convert their starts to a big knock. As a result, they were dismissed for 184, with Kate Peterson taking a fifer. Thereafter, the Indian bowling unit could not pick up enough wickets, as the century from Maddy Darke resulted in the home team finishing on 260.
Needing 289 to win, most Indian batters exuded confidence with their strokeplay, but they lost their wickets at the wrong time. Knott and Tess Flintoff proved to the wrecker-in-chiefs, as they finished with three wickets each to bundle out India for 243 and win by 45 runs. The hosts had already secured a 2-1 series win in the 50-over format and a 3-0 victory in the shortest format.
On that note, let’s take a look at the three best performers for India A Women during this game.
#3 Shweta Sehrawat
The talented top-order batter, Shweta Sehrawat made sure that the Indian team remains in good stead during her presence at the crease in the first innings. Shweta put up a valiant effort, scoring 40 off 120, while stitching together a few crucial stands, before getting dismissed in the 41st over.
In the second innings, Shweta started well but was trapped LBW by Charli Knott on 21 off 49. Although the contribution was not significant, it set the stage for the incoming batters to keep on pressing hard in pursuit of a big target of 289. Besides, the 20-year-old took a total of four catches in the game as well.
#2 Priya Mishra
Priya Mishra opened the floodgates for the Indian team by breaking the blossoming 56-run opening stand of Australia in the first innings. She breached the defense of Emma de Broughe with her wrong'un and then went on to dismiss other key batters like Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff and Kate Peterson.
The leg-spinner finished with figures of 4/58 in 20.3 overs and played a key role to wrap up the Aussies for 212. The second innings saw her claim two wickets – Broughe and Nicola Hancock, as she bowled 17 overs and gave away 59 runs.
Interestingly, Priya was terrific with her figures of 5/14 in the 50-over game against Australia, which helped the team to win by 171 runs last Sunday.
#1 Minnu Mani
Indian captain Minnu Mani was the finest performer for the Indian team in this game, with exceptional figures with the ball and double-digit contributions with the bat. In the first innings, Mani dismissed her counterpart, Charli Knott, for 3. Then, her other key wickets included Maitlan Brown and Grace Parsons, who were threatening India for posting a strong total. The off-spinner completed with figures of 5/58 in 21 overs.
In the second innings, Mani ran through Australia’s top-order to put pressure on the hosts. Although, other bowlers could not get going, the 25-year-old was resilient with her performance to finish with figures of 6/92.
Hence, Mani took a total of 11 wickets in the game and chipped in with knocks of 17 & 10 with the bat.