Australia’s quicks have tightened their grip on the day-night Test against India, as Annabel Sutherland’s record-breaking fourth Test century and a dominant display from quicks with the pink ball under lights has the hosts firmly on track for a win at the WACA.
Annabel Sutherland’s 171-ball 129 saw her become the first Australian woman to score four Test centuries, and the first woman to hit three Test tons in a row, while Darcie Brown celebrated her 23rd birthday by knocking Smriti Mandhana’s off stump out of the ground, dismissing the superstar batter for two.
Lucy Hamilton (3-32 off eight) combined with Sutherland to reduce India to 6-105 at stumps on day two, with Sneh Rana (14no) and Pratika Rawal (43no) left to resume on Sunday, 20 runs shy of making Australia bat again.
A dogged ninth-wicket stand between Alana King and Lucy Hamilton ensured India’s top-order would commence their second innings at twilight, and Australia’s quicks duly ran riot with the pink ball, with Sutherland having an lbw call overturned in her first over, before being in the thick of the action and taking out Jemimah Rodrigues (14) and Harmanpreet Kaur (11).
The Victorian has scored more than 700 runs in the format, sitting less than 300 behind Ellyse Perry, who scored 76 and had become her country’s leading scorer in women’s Tests, surpassing Karen Rolton’s mark. Perry’s 76 saw her bring up a total of 1,006 runs with potentially a second dig to come in this match.
Earlier, Ellyse Perry had taken her time to bring up her half-century, reaching the milestone with the first six of the innings, and shortly after, she was dismissed lbw by Deepti for 76, denying her a third Test century.
Resuming on 20, Annabel Sutherland was near-faultless as she also reached fifty off 70 deliveries, combining with Beth Mooney to take Australia past India’s first-innings total, with Sutherland’s knock seeing her become the first woman to hit three Test tons in a row, surpassing Karen Rolton’s record of 1,002 for most Test runs by an Australian woman, with her innings of 129 seeing her surpass Karen Rolton to become her country’s leading scorer in women’s Tests.
Australia on the path to victory?
India are still 20 runs shy of making Australia bat again, but the hosts are firmly on track for a victory, with their quicks having the Indians’ top-order in tatters, leaving Pratika Rawal and Sneh Rana to save the match.
With Sutherland’s historic century and Australia’s dominant display, the hosts are poised to take the win, with the match hanging in the balance going into day three.
