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Australia v India: women’s Test, day three – as it happened

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Jhulan Goswami and Pooja Vastrakar took two wickets apiece as Australia closed on 143 for four, needing another 85 runs to avoid the follow-on

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Sat 2 Oct 2021 08.06 EDTFirst published on Fri 1 Oct 2021 23.31 EDT
Jhulan Goswami
India's Jhulan Goswami celebrates an early wicket as the visitors took the ascendancy on day three of their Test match against Australia. Photograph: Jason O’Brien/AAP
India's Jhulan Goswami celebrates an early wicket as the visitors took the ascendancy on day three of their Test match against Australia. Photograph: Jason O’Brien/AAP

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That was another good day for India, though they are likely to run out of time in their attempt to win the match. Deepti Sharma’s patient 66 helped them to 377 for eight declared before the new-ball bowlers, Jhulan Goswami and Pooja Vastrakar took two wickets apiece. They bowled beautifully, Goswami in particular, but were unable to shift Elysse Perry. She was formidably secure in defence, making 27 not out from 98 balls. That’s all for today’s blog - goodnight!

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Stumps

60th over: Australia 143-4 (Perry 27, Gardner 13) Vastrakar returns for the final over of the day and almost gets her third wicket when Gardner, pushing tentatively, edges wide of slip for four. That’s the last scare of the day for Australia, who will need another 85 runs to avoid the follow-on when they resume tomorrow.

59th over: Australia 138-4 (Perry 26, Gardner 9) Not long now until the close of play. Gardner gets a couple of bonus runs when a drive goes through Mandhana in the covers. Goswami is done for the day - she picked up both openers and finished with admirable figures of 14-3-27-2.

58th over: Australia 136-4 (Perry 26, Gardner 7) Gardner hoicks a full toss from Meghna Singh through midwicket for a couple. A ;ong day’s play - slow at times, intriguing at others - is starting to peter out.

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56th over: Australia 132-4 (Perry 26, Gardner 3) Meghna Singh, on for Vastrakar, beats both batters outside off stump during an excellent over. Gardner also took a tight single to mid-on, though she would have been home even if Mithali Raj’s throw had hit the stumps.

55th over: Australia 131-4 (Perry 26, Gardner 2) Perry may not have been fluent but she has been so solid defensively. She plays out another maiden from Goswami, who looks pretty tired after a long evening in the field.

54th over: Australia 131-4 (Perry 26, Gardner 2) India would love to pick up a couple more wickets before the close. Gardner almost gets in trouble when she wanders out of her crease after missing a leg-side delivery. Bhatia’s throw missed the stumps, and she might have been back in here crease anyway.

53rd over: Australia 130-4 (Perry 25, Gardner 2) Jhulan Goswami returns for one last spell before stumps, and almost gets through Gardner with an inducker that keeps low. In the end Gardner did well to inside-edge it to safety.

52nd over: Australia 128-4 (Perry 24, Gardner 1) The umpires are unhappy with the replacement ball, so there’s another break in play while it is changed. When play resumes, Gardner is beaten outside off stump by consecutive deliveries from Vastrakar and then inside-edges past leg stump. A reminder that Australia need 228 to avoid the follow on and effectively ensure a draw.

51st over: Australia 127-4 (Perry 24, Gardner 0) The dew is making life difficult for Gayakwad, who is drying the ball before each delivery. A couple of overpitched deliveries slip out of the hand and are put away with authority by Perry - the first through mid-off and the second through the covers.

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50th over: Australia 119-4 (Perry 16, Gardner 0) There’s a break in play while the pink ball is changed. The old one was in a bit of a state, mainly because of the dew. Eventually the new batter Ashleigh Gardner faces her first couple of deliveries to complete the over.

WICKET! Australia 119-4 (McGrath c Mandhana b Vastrakar 28)

Tahlia McGrath has thrown it away. She slapped a short ball straight to deep backward point, where Smriti Mandhana took a comfortable catch. McGrath played nicely for her 28 and looked thoroughly hacked off with the manner of her dismissal.

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49th over: Australia 118-3 (Perry 16, McGrath 28) Mithali Raj rotates her spinners for the umpteenth time today: Sharma off, Gayakwad on. She hasn’t been as threatening since tea, and she’s decided it’s time to try bowling over the wicket. I’m not sure that’s a good idea, though it has precisely bugger all to do with me. One from the over.

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48th over: Australia 118-3 (Perry 16, McGrath 27) Perry’s innings hasn’t been entirely defensive. She has hit a handful of cracking drives straight to a fielder, including a couple more in that over from Vastrakar. A maiden.

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47th over: Australia 118-3 (Perry 16, McGrath 27) McGrath drives Sharma down the ground for four, another excellent stroke in an increasingly confident innings. Verma might have done better, running round from mid-on, but it was very well struck. McGrath scored three from her first 32 deliveries; since then she’s hit 24 from 26 balls.

So, @Cricketbatcat has just suggested that the player of the #AUSvIND series should be awarded the Raj-Perry Beret.

— Dan Liebke (@LiebCricket) October 2, 2021
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45th over: Australia 111-3 (Perry 15, McGrath 21) Deepti Sharma returns to the attack, and McGrath greets her with a gorgeous drive through extra cover for four. Australia have now scored 24 from the last five overs, having managed 24 from 18 before that.

45th over: Australia 111-3 (Perry 15, McGrath 21) Deepti Sharma returns to the attack, and McGrath greets her with a gorgeous drive through extra cover for four. Australia have now scored 24 from the last five overs, having managed 24 from 18 before that.

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44th over: Australia 106-3 (Perry 15, McGrath 16) Perry finally gets her first boundary, steering Vastrakar past gully. A cracking straight drive off the next delivery is well fielded by the bowler, and that’s drinks.

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43rd over: Australia 101-3 (Perry 11, McGrath 16) Perry has played with almost exaggerated restraint throughout her innings. She is dealing exclusively in singles; another one off Singh takes her to 11 from 55 balls.

42nd over: Australia 101-3 (Perry 10, McGrath 16) McGrath is starting to go through the gears. She rocks back to back cut Gayakwad for four, with the aid of an unfortunate misfield by Mandhana on the boundary. That brings up the Australian hundred.

41st over: Australia 97-3 (Perry 10, McGrath 12) There was a delivery in the previous over from Gayakwad that hit Perry on the pad when she came down the track. Nobody really appealed, but replays show it was on course to hit leg stump. Meanwhile, McGrath gets her first boundary - the first in 13 overs in fact - with a flick off the pads. Some good running makes it ten from the over, which is as many as Australia had scored in the previous 12 overs.

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40th over: Australia 87-3 (Perry 9, McGrath 3) Rajeshwari Gayakwad replaces Sharma, who bowled an accurate, if largely unthreatening, spell of 5-4-2-0. A misfield in the cover from Verma allows Perry to go through for a single. That’s your lot.

39th over: Australia 86-3 (Perry 8, McGrath 3) Perry flicks Singh off the pads for a single. Not much is happening at the moment - although Australia’s batters are becalmed, they do look comfortable defensively.

38th over: Australia 85-3 (Perry 7, McGrath 3) Since tea Australia have scored 16 runs in 14 overs. Sharma isn’t really turning the ball but she has a nice rhythm and Australia’s batters haven’t yet felt confident enough to really attack her.

37th over: Australia 85-3 (Perry 7, McGrath 3) Meghna Singh replaces Pooja Vastrakar. She has an ultra-optimistic LBW appeal against McGrath, who was hit outside leg stump by a yorker. Not out.

36th over: Australia 84-3 (Perry 7, McGrath 3) Sharma concedes her first run from her 19th delivery, with Perry driving a single. McGrath adds another off the last ball of the over. There’s an argument that Australia, Perry in particular, need to be a bit more aggressive, though it’s easy to say that from the other side of the world.

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35th over: Australia 82-3 (Perry 6, McGrath 2) Tahlia McGrath has started her innings confidently, albeit through assertive defensive strokes rather than anything more expansive. She plays out another maiden from Vastrakar. Australia have scored only seven runs from the last seven overs.

Also worth noting women's internationals have never had DRS outside of England and NZ (and ofc recent World Cups). Hopefully it's implemented for the Ashes. https://t.co/e28s78GOEC

— Laura Jolly (@JollyLauz18) October 2, 2021

34th over: Australia 82-3 (Perry 6, McGrath 2) Deepti Sharma bowls a third consecutive maiden, the last two of which have been to Perry. I don’t know what else to tell you.

33rd over: Australia 82-3 (Perry 6, McGrath 2) Vastrakar will probably feel that’s karmic payback for those two chances that Lanning survived in the 16th over. Either way, it’s a huge wicket for India. They could still give Australia a fright in this game.

Have been told it was always the plan to have DRS for this series but the late change of venues and logistical problems (including border closures) made it impossible. Which is obviously not ideal. #AUSvIND https://t.co/OJUfdyApCb

— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) October 2, 2021
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32nd over: Australia 80-2 (Lanning 38, Perry 6) Perry is playing very carefully; in fact I can’t recall an attacking stroke in her short innings. After another probing maiden from Sharma, she has six from 33 balls.

31st over: Australia 80-2 (Lanning 38, Perry 6) A double bowling change, with Pooja Vastrakar on for Goswami. She bowled a classy spell before tea and had Meg Lanning dropped in the gully. Lanning is still happy to drive outside off stump, though, a shot that brings her a couple more runs.

30th over: Australia 77-2 (Lanning 36, Perry 5) The offspinner Deepti Sharma comes on to replace Gayakwad, who was dangerous if erratic, and has a huge LBW shout against Lanning turned down by Phillip Gillespie. It was comfortably missing leg stump. But it’s a promising start from Sharma, a very tidy maiden.

29th over: Australia 77-2 (Lanning 36, Perry 5) Perry is living dangerously against Goswami. She inside-edges past short leg for a couple, the only runs from another excellent over.

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