IND vs AUS women’s Test: Richa Ghosh scripts a Test debut to remember

Richa Ghosh after hitting fifty on Test debut in front of her family. This is Ghosh’s third 50 across formats. (Photo: PTI)

“Test cricket hain, test lega hi toh (It’s Test cricket, it’s bound to test you.)”

Say it like you feel it, they say. And, Richa Ghosh, the latest Test debutant on the Indian women’s cricket team, did very much that at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday during, and after, scoring her first Test fifty.

On what was the second day of the one-off women’s Test against Australia, Ghosh felt the rigours of the longest format in her maiden bow in whites. But on a track that has humbled some of the most experienced batters in red-ball cricket with its deceptively green look and variable bounce, the 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batter belied both her age and experience with a determined 104-ball 52.

Coming in at No. 4, Ghosh, whose batting credentials are hinged more on her T20 big-hitting, helped India navigate a crucial phase of play in the morning session. Nightwatchwoman Sneh Rana and top-scorer Smriti Mandhana had just fallen in the space of four overs. Mandhana’s dismissal, a run-out against the run of play, on 73 not only cost the India vice-captain a century, but also pushed the hosts perilously close to a collapse.

That Mandhana’s wicket — triggered by a mix-up and completed by sharp work by fielder Kim Garth and bowler Ashleigh Gardner — involved, but wasn’t down to any heedlessness from, Ghosh, could have easily derailed the youngster’s focus. But thanks to some calming words from Mandhana before the senior batter walked off the field and oodles of doggedness on the part of Ghosh herself, she dug her heels in in No. 5 Jemimah Rodrigues’ company.

The result: A Test half-century — Ghosh’s third across formats — in a momentum-changing, and potentially match-winning, 187-ball 113-run partnership with Rodrigues.

“It’s a fifty on my Test debut, so it does feel great,” Ghosh said after the day’s play in Mumbai, “When Jemi walked in, we told each other we had to build a partnership. She encouraged me a lot. It felt good…It’s Test cricket, so it’s bound to test you. I had to come out of my comfort zone some time or the other. Today was that day.

“Sir [head coach Amol Muzumder] had called me the night before [ahead of my Test debut] and told me that I would be playing in this game against Australia. All I had on my mind at the time was acknowledging the moment and joy — that I was about to get a chance to play Test cricket — but I made sure I didn’t let the pressure of the format get to me.

“So, I took it quite easy, and reminded myself that I have already played the other formats against Australia. The only difference was this was a Test, so I needed to be mindful of allowing myself more time.”

On the first day alone, the pitch had done enough to spook the majority of the Australians. That most of them hardly proved a match for the discipline and relentlessness of India’s attack, especially pacer Pooja Vatsrakar’s, compounded their struggles.

The occasional low bounce caught a few of them, including captain Alyssa Healy, unawares. As it did her opposite number, Harmanpreet Kaur, on Day 2 as a length ball refused to rise and sneaked under the India captain’s cautious straight-batted defence.

The surface isn’t a minefield, but has its share of demons. On Friday, most of those peeked out under the expert operation of Australia offspinner Ashleigh Gardner, who bowled 36 off the 100 overs India batted on the day and reaped four well-earned wickets off them.

Gardner’s peerless efficacy among Australia’s eight-pronged attack called for watchfulness, and both Ghosh and Rodrigues accorded her the respect when the occasion demanded.

“We had to get our eye in, especially with the bounce,” said Ghosh. “When Smriti di was with me in the middle, we spoke about that. We bided our time, passed on any notes we took to the dressing room and, the next one in to bat … As viewers must have seen on broadcast, the pitch has been keeping low from time to time, and the variable bounce is making it difficult for batters.”

Handed her Test cap on Thursday by Mandhana in the presence of her parents, Ghosh expertly rode the ebbs and flows of the second session on Day 2. She was dropped on 14 by senior Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry but either side of the reprieve, Ghosh resorting to sound defence and the occasional attacking shot, stroking seven fours along the way.

A standout facet of her stand with fellow half-centurion Rodrigues was the adroit and generous use of the sweep shot. It blunted a significant part of the Australian bowlers’ threat as it did their morale.

What was their approach to deploying the shot? Seemingly simple. “We just told ourselves we had to react to the ball,” she said. “If the ball warranted a sweep, we’d sweep it; if it didn’t, we’d refrain from using it.”

Ghosh reached her fifty off 98 balls with a single towards mid-off off Garth, two deliveries before drinks. As she completed the run, the sparse 500-strong ticketed crowd at the Wankhede — all of them, inexplicably, restricted to the Garware Pavilion by the Mumbai Cricket Association — were on their feet.

Ghosh acknowledged the applause with a raise of the bat, pointing it first towards the Indian dressing and then, next to it, the Garware Pavilion.

“Before this Test, I had a lot of time to prepare myself,” she said. “Sir also helped me work out how I can best utilise the time to come up with a good performance in the Test.

“My parents were also very happy to see me make my Test debut. That I am able to share that moment and occasion with them — that’s the most special feeling for me.”