Australia fought hard on Day 3 of the one-off Test against India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai but India were still in a position of strength at stumps on Saturday (December 23). Australia picked up early wickets to bowl India out for 406 and then Tahlia McGrath came up with a tenacious display with the bat, scoring 73 off 177. But on a slow pitch that wasn’t really misbehaving, Australia ended the day at 231/5 having batted for 90 overs, extending their lead to 44, with India still calling the shots.

India started the day at 376/7 but could add only 30 runs to their overnight total as Annabel Sutherland and Kim Garth combined to limit the damage. A 122-run stand for the eighth wicket came to an end when Pooja Vastrakar fell to a short ball from Sutherland, departing three short of a half-century. Deepti Sharma, batting on 78, looked to play across the line to a Garth delivery but the ball deflected from the pad onto the stumps. Renuka Singh also fell to a short ball from Sutherland as India’s first innings came to an end in 7.3 overs in the opening session.

Starting their second essay with a deficit of 187 runs, Australia were off to a brisk start thanks to Beth Mooney who struck regular boundaries while Phoebe Litchfield, at the other end, was a bit more watchful. The opening stand, however, came to an end one short of the half-century mark when Mooney was run out for 33, stepping outside the crease after defending the ball to silly point where Richa Ghosh was quick to react. Litchfield fell soon after, bowled by Sneh Rana attempting a reverse sweep.

At 56/2, Australia were in a spot of bother but Ellyse Perry and McGrath combined forces to keep the Indian bowlers at bay for more than 25 overs. They added 84 for the third wicket, with Perry scoring 44 of those runs and McGrath managing 38. There were a couple of missed chances as well, as Richa put down Perry at short leg and Rana missed a catch at slip to give McGrath a reprieve. The partnership, though, came to an abrupt halt a few overs before Tea as Perry was out for 45, caught down the legside off Rana. McGrath was unbeaten at Tea, four away from her second half-century in the game.

Australia’s No.4 continued her dogged batting display in the final session as she went past fifty and even used the DRS successfully to overturn a couple of leg-before decisions. Apart from a hat-trick of fours off Renuka Singh that took Australia into the lead, McGrath was happy to wear the Indian bowlers down, as was Alyssa Healy, as they put on 66 for the fourth wicket, taking nearly 30 overs for that. Harmanpreet Kaur ended the resistance as McGrath’s attempt to defend resulted in the ball slowly rolling onto the stumps.

Healy and Sutherland weren’t in any hurry to score runs in their association either, with the Australia skipper also being reprieved twice in the 79th over, bowled by Rajeshwari Gayakwad, with Jemimah Rodrigues failing to hold on to tough chances at silly point. India also appealed for obstructing the field when Healy was shielding herself from a Harmanpreet throw, but the umpires ruled in favour of the Australia captain. Healy, however, fell soon after missing a sweep to be trapped in front by the Indian captain, and also burnt a review in the process.

Sutherland and Ashleigh Gardner batted for 62 deliveries for their unbeaten 12-run stand, seeing off the second new ball that was used for the last over and a half, to take Australia into Stumps without further damage. But India still have the upper hand in the game and Australia will need their lower middle order batters to defy the home team bowlers and set up a challenging target on a pitch that is expected to deteriorate.

Brief scores:
Australia 219 & 233/5 (Tahlia McGrath 73, Ellyse Perry 45; Harmanpreet Kaur 2-23, Sneh Rana 2-54) lead  India 406 (Deepti Sharma 78, Smriti Mandhana 74; Ashleigh Gardner 4-100, Annabel Sutherland 2-41) by 46 runs.