IND vs AUS: Harmanpreet’s nine-over spell on the third day was the turning point, says Sneh Rana

In the one-off Test against England last week, Rana had claimed two wickets, but she returned strongly against the Australian team and was adjudged the player of the match.

After claiming three wickets in the first innings to derail the Australian team, Sneh Rana followed it up with a four-fer in the second essay to pave the way for India’s eight-wicket win. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI | The Hindu

India women cricketers featured in a Test match at the iconic Wankhede Stadium for the first time in forty years, and Sneh Rana made it memorable. After claiming three wickets in the first innings to derail the Australian team, she followed it up with a four-fer in the second essay to pave the way for India’s eight-wicket win.

For the off-spinner keeping things simple was the key. “The preparations were simple, we had no need to experiment a lot because red-ball cricket is a long game. We kept it simple, we were calm and I have always prepared to bowl in my channels,” she said on Sunday. “I back my strengths and in these two games, I tried to do the same.”

IND vs AUS: India records first Women’s Test win against Australia in Mumbai

In the one-off Test against England last week, Rana had claimed two wickets, but she returned strongly against the Australian team and was adjudged the player of the match. While she was happy to have contributed to the team’s success, Rana credited Harmanpreet Kaur’s nine-over spell on the third day as the ‘turning point of the game’.

At a time when the bowlers were being made to toil, Harmanpreet brought herself into the attack and claimed two key wickets of Tahlia McGrath and Alyssa Healy.

That broke Australia’s momentum and brought India into the game. “We were not thinking much and wanted to stay in the present. Harman di’s two wickets were the turning point of the game,” she said.

In 2021, when India played a Test match against England, Rana made her comeback, even though she missed out on the one-off Test against Australia. But when an opportunity came her way after a couple of years, she made the most of the opportunity.

“Test cricket is the real format and everyone rates it highly, we are very fortunate to have got to play two back to back Tests in home conditions. I hope that we keep getting more Tests and it will be better for the future generations (of players) as well.”

She also heaped praise on head coach Amol Muzumdar, who took charge a month-and-a-half ago. “As Harman di said, he had an important role in the team. He has been a very experienced player and all his inputs have been good. We have tried to follow that and the result can be seen in the last two Tests,” she said.

“We are very thankful that he has come on as a coach. In the future too we hope to continue doing well under him.”