MUMBAI: Skipping down the track, Smriti Mandhana (38 not out, 61b, 6x4) lofted Jess Jonassen for a one-bounce four, and then warmly embraced her close friend Jemimah Rodrigues. Below the Indian dressing room, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur gave a tight hug to new head coach Amol Muzumdar. The whole team then walked up to the fence to acknowledge the loyal support from around 200-odd spectators, who would turn up every day to cheer Team India.
"Thank you, guys, You Made this Test Victory even more special. Your Chants are still running in all our heads," Mandhana tweeted later.
Coming on a typical wintry Sunday morning here, the India women's team's historic, maiden Test win against Australia in the one-off Test, triggered emotional scenes at the Wankhede Stadium, which took you 12 years back, when the Indian men's team rejoiced after clinching the 2011 World Cup here.
It was a befitting end to the first home season in Test cricket in 28 years and this triumph will certainly go down as a major landmark in Indian cricket, especially in the women's game. Even though their whiteball game is still a work-inprogress, the Indian women's team has proved that, like in the case of the men's side, India are a force to reckon with in home Tests, where their spinners become a handful to deal with on a turning track. Australian captain Alyssa Healy saw it coming-before this Test, she had predicted that India would be "incredibly dominant" in women's cricket in the time to come!
Just a few days back, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co had trounced England by 347 runs in a one-off Test at the DY Patil Stadium, thus achieving their first home Test win against them. Playing back-to-back Tests at home for the first time in their careers, Harmanpreet Kaur & Co have grabbed this rare opportunity with both hands, making a solid case for more home Tests in the future.
These historic triumphs have also rounded off a landmark, memorable 2023, which began with the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League and saw Harmanpreet Kaur & Co clinch the Asian Games gold in China.
Prior to this eight-wicket triumph, India had played Australia 10 times since 1977, losing four Tests and drawing the other six. Over the years, the Australian women's team, like their men's side, has dominated the white-ball formats, winning multiple World Cups. Few would have predicted India beating this bunch in a Test match so easily, but by putting hardly a foot wrong, the hosts have proved that they have the quality to beat the best.
What makes the Test wins over England and Australia within a fortnight sweeter is that young guns like Jemimah Rodrigues, Shubha Satheesh, Renuka Singh Thakur and Richa Ghosh have all taken to Test cricket like duck to water.
The historic back-to-back Test wins also mark a successful start for new head coach of the Indian women's team, Amol Muzumdar, who, along with the bowling coach for this home series, Troy Cooley, seems to be making a massive difference to this team.
Fighting fiercely on Day Three, Australia did well to take the Test into the fourth and final day. When play resumed in the morning, the game was in the balance, with Australia ahead by 46 runs and having five wickets in the bank. However, after struggling with the ball on Saturday, India came all guns blazing on the last day, dismissing the remaining five Aussie batters in just 72 minutes, in 15.4 overs, for the addition of just 28 runs as the visitors folded for 261. After resisting India through a major part of Day Three, Australia collapsed in a heap, finally surrendering to India's relentless spinners.
After pacer Pooja Vastrakar began the charge with a sizzling yorker that trapped Ashleigh Gardner (7) lbw, it was the turn of spinners Sneh Rana (4-63 in 22 overs) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2-42 in 28.4 overs) to get into the act. Rana was on a hat-trick when she had Annabel Sutherland (27) caught behind when an attempted sweep saw the ball brush her glove, and then next ball castled Alana King.
BRIEF SCORES: India 406 & 75/2 beat Australia 219 and 261 (T McGrath 73, Rana 4-63)
1/10:Team India's historic Test win against Australia
<p>Read more on TOI Sports<br /></p>TIMESOFINDIA.COM
2/10:HISTORIC WIN
<p>India's women's cricket team cruised to their first-ever win against Australia in Test cricket Sunday, beating the visitors by eight wickets in a one-off match in Mumbai.<br /></p>ANI
3/10:DOMINANT SHOW
<p>India dominated play in the four-day match at the Wankhede Stadium, smashing 406 runs in the first innings to take a 187-run lead.<br /></p>AFP
4/10:SPECTACULAR WIN
<p>On the final day, Australia knocked out 261, with India's bowlers earning five wickets for just 28 runs, including right arm offbreak Sneh Rana taking two wickets in two balls.<br /></p>TIMESOFINDIA.COM
5/10:PLAYER OF THE MATCH
<p>Sneh Rana was awarded Player of the Match. Sneh climed seven wickets in the match.<br /></p>TIMESOFINDIA.COM
6/10:JOB DONE
<p>Set a target of 75, India's skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's team chased down the runs in dramatic play in just under 19 overs for two wickets.<br /></p>ANI
7/10:BIG MOMENT
<p>For India's women, it was their first Test victory against Australia after 11 attempts since 1977.<br /></p>TIMESOFINDIA.COM
8/10:WINNING RUN
<p>It follows India's victory against England last week, also in Mumbai.<br /></p>AFP
9/10:WELL DONE, TEAM INDIA
<p>Jay Shah, the Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary, celebrated the back-to-back Test wins. "They conquered it with brilliance. History made today!": Shah posted on social media.<br /></p>TIMESOFINDIA.COM
