A fighting performance in the ODIs has given the Indian women’s cricket team the much-needed shot of confidence. Now, the team shall go through a trial by fire when they make their Day-Night Test debut against Australia in the one-off game beginning here tomorrowSept 30. With the third ODI held on Sunday and the following day being a rest day, the Mithali Raj-led squad have had only two practice sessions in the lead-up to the landmark Test. The visitors lost 2-1 in the ODI series. The squad has very little idea about how the shiny pink ball will behave during the course of the game at the Metricon Stadium.
Australia, who played their lone Day-Night Test in November 2017, also go into the game with limited practice but their potent pace attack will be looking forward to wreaking havoc at the greenish pitch.
India did well in their first Test outing in seven years, drawing against England in June, but the players and experts believe the pink ball will pose a tougher challenge for the visitors.
India and Australia last played a Test in 2006 with only Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami featuring in that game among the current players on both sides.
“I would call it a trial by fire for the Indians,” said former India captain and BCCI apex council member Shantha Rangaswamy. “The players have hardly played with the red ball in the last three-four years. A Day-Night Test is a completely different ball game and a much tougher challenge. Though Australia have more Test experience than India of late, their players also haven’t played a lot in the whites. Some of their key players are missing and India showed (in ODIs) that Australia are beatable,” added Rangaswamy, who led India to their maiden Test win in 1976.
Harmanpreet Kaur remains unavailable though she did have a hit in the nets on the eve of the game. “Harman had injured her thumb while fielding that is why she is out. It hasn’t healed properly,” Mithali said on the eve of the match.
Rookie batter Yastika Bhatia and pacer Meghna Singh, who made impressive debuts in the ODI series, could be handed their maiden Test caps. Veteran Jhulan, Meghna and Pooja Vastrakar is the likely pace combination. Spinner Sneh Rana is likely to be the other all-rounder in the side alongside Deepti Sharma.