Vastrakar and Rana put India in driver's seat against Aussies

Pooja Vastrakar continued her fine form with the ball, before Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana added a 90-run partnership for the first wicket, as India gained the upper hand against Australia on Day 1 of the one-off Test at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.

- Aditya Chaturvedi

Electing to bat first, Australia were bowled-out for 219 runstheir lowest-ever Test total against India. After a three-wicket haul against England last week, Pooja stepped up once again to return with her best bowling figures (4/53) in the format. India carried forward the momentum with the bat thanks to their openers and ended the day at 98/1, trailing by 121 runs.

India, who made just one change as Richa Ghosh replaced the injured Shubha Satheesh, had benefitted a great deal from winning the toss against England. They put up a huge total on Day 1 before the pitch began to crumble and the bowlers took advantage over the next two days. This time, Australia had the edge as they won the toss and got to bat first. There was a lot more grass on the surface but with the ball staying low repeatedly in the first session itself, it seemed the visitors would be in a strong position if they managed to post a decent first-innings total.

However, India ensured they got to stumps in the driver's seat on the back of a determined bowling performance. Australia found themselves in a serious spot of bother early on as they were reduced to 7/2 in the second over, with Phoebe Litchfield run-out for a duck without facing a ball.