ZBlogR

The television cameras have gone, time for us to disappear too. An intriguing day at the Wankhede, with the pendulum swinging from India to Australia and then hugely to India again with that vital unbeaten eighth-wicket partnership of 102 between Deepti and Vastrakar.

After Ghosh and Rodrigues put on 113, Australia fought back solidly in the afternoon as India lost their middle order in a flurry of wickets - four for 14. But try as they might, they just couldn’t wheedle out Deepti and Vastrakar. Immense bowling from Gardner, 41 overs, 4-100.

Thanks for the sudden lovely surprise flurry of emails at the end, with a last one for the road. Hello Sayonton! ”Can we assume Deepti and Pooja are Stokes ( as Indian coach Amol Mazumder suggested) and Woakes of Indian cricket. Perennially frustrating the Aussies.” They certainly did a very good job of that today.

Jim and I will be back tomorrow – until then, have a lovely day, wherever you are.

Richa Ghosh is interviewed – she’s beaming! Apologies again for not being able to translate. Happy lady.

“Hi Tanya, Ish here from Mumbai.” Hello Ish! “Not at the stadium as I’m stuck in office, but very happy to see the Indian lower order chugging along! You think the test will go on till day 4?” I reckon so, India chug on for an hour tomorrow and then Australia (just about) bat out the day?

Stumps: India 376-7 lead Australia by 157 runs

119th over: India 376-7 (Deepti 70, Vastrakar 33) Jonassen wheels through her 18th over, just a couple of singles from it and that’s your lot! Harmanpreet grins broadly, the players shake hands and a weary Australia follow Deepti and Vastrakar off the field.

And a sudden avalanche of emails. Hello Michael Duggan!

“Just to reassure you there are some of us reading your every word.

“As a Brit, no skin in the game as such but for some reason I would rather India win as they beat England and if Australia win it will make England look worse. Not rational I know but…”

118th over: India 374-7 (Deepti 69, Vastrakar 32)A dab past point for a couple brings up the 100-run partnership off 232 balls – Deepti and Vastrakar touch gloves and hug, from beyond the boundary their teammates roar in approval.

117th over: India 372-7 (Deepti 67, Vastrakar 32) A end of day maiden from Jonassen.

At last, an email – with just minutes to go. Lovely to hear from you Swami! “Thanks for the coverage, Tanya! Just an India fan enjoying the commitment to disciplined batting shown by these women.” I agree, they’ve been superb – it would have been so easy to collapse in a heap with the lead negligible – now it looks match-winning.

swami

116th over: India 372-7 (Deepti 67, Vastrakar 32) Vastrakar content to just dab Gardner away. One from the over, and she regains the strike with three overs remaining. The umpire is brought a light meter and he has a word with Healy.

115th over: India 371-7 (Deepti 67, Vastrakar 31) Harmanpreet leans on the window of the dressing-room, willing them, willing them, to stick it out to the close. The current partnership is 97 crucial runs. Jonassen’s last ball falls out of her hands as she’s mid-delivery.

India lead by 150

114th over: India 369-7 (Deepti 66, Vastrakar 30) Another skip and slap, Deepti flays King with the turn over short midwicket for four. Sweeps for a single, and the commentators say how effective the Indians have been with the sweep today. Please disreagard my earlier comments. Five overs left today. The lead builds to 150.

113th over: India 364-7 (Deepti 61, Vastrakar 30)Just one from Jonassen. Is there anyone out there?

112th over: India 363-7 (Deepti 60, Vastrakar 30) Deepti quicksteps down the pitch, and wellies King over mid-on for four. Unexpected but incredibly effective. The dog returns to her place on the sofa after her walk, both smelly and affectionate.

111th over: India 358-7 (Deepti 55, Vastrakar 30) Fairly easy singles off Jonassen. The lead 139.

Deepti is also only the second woman to score fifty or more in each of her first four Tests. The first? Denise Emerson.

Fifty for Deepti Sharma!

110th over: India 355-7 (Deepti 53, Vastrakar 29) Deepti plonks her front foot and swings King for four. Her second fifty in successive Tests, not to mention the pancake stack of wickets. She grins, covered in red soil from chest to ankle, and is warmly applauded by her teammates on the sidelines.

109th over: India 348-7 (Deepti 48, Vastrakar 27) A sprightly two from Jonassen’s over.

108th over: India 346-7 (Deepti 47, Vastrakar 26) A single from an over-pitched ball by King, a white towel tucked into the waistband of her whites. Just one from the over, as the crowd munch their popcorn. This is not Jon-ball, but it may well be more effective – read Raf for more details:

107th over: India 345-7 (Deepti 47, Vastrakar 25) Dot to dot, another maiden for Australia, this time from Jonassen. India content to slowly accumulate – the lead 126.

106th over: India 345-7 (Deepti 47, Vastrakar 25) Big turn from King, one flies off the pitch, rips past the outside edge of Vastrakar’s outside edge and into the pocket of slip. A maiden.

105th over: India 345-7 (Deepti 47, Vastrakar 25) The left arm of Jonassen replaces Gardner. Deepti sweeps uppishly, but no chance for the chasing King, and the ball tumbles over the rope.

104th over: India 341-7 (Deepti 43, Vastrakar 25) Some magic from King: turn and bounce. Too good for Vastrakar, who can’t get get a handle on it.

103rd over: India 339-7 (Deepti 42, Vastrakar 25) A full toss from Gardner, Deepti’s eyes light up and she swivel-pulls it down to the third man boundary.

102nd over: India 335-7 (Deepti 38, Vastrakar 25) Another bowling change, it is Alana King and her flyaway right foot. A big appeal for lbw but it was going down leg. Then a beauty that flummoxes Vastrakar, ripping off the surface, past the outside edge.

101st over: India 334-7 (Deepti 37, Vastrakar 25) Vastrakar dispatches one from Gardner on the pads behind square for four. Is beaten by one that passes the outside edge.

100th over: India 330-7 (Deepti 37, Vastrakar 21) Deepti leans back, all balance and angles and eases the ball through point for four. Sutherland winkles her nose in disgust. Three dots then Sutherland is forced to pull out of her run up as Deepti gets something in her eye. Interesting chat on comms, that apparently on red soil your spinners don’t have to bowl so fast. Time for DRINKS!

99th over: India 326-7 (Deepti 33, Vastrakar 21) Gardner, with a bounce and a flick. Just singles, but they all count.

98th over: India 323-7 (Deepti 31, Vastrakar 20) Another maiden, this time for Sutherland. This partnership has now lasted 20 overs and cost 49 runs.

97th over: India 323-7 (Deepti 31, Vastrakar 20) After brief experimentation, Healy returns to Gardner. Into her 36th over. A terrible ball outside the leg side is swept fine for four by Deepti. Five dots.

India lead by 100 runs

96th over: India 319-7 (Deepti 27, Vastrakar 20) Singles knocked hither and thither, as the lead builds to a hundre. ! Deepti now has a filthy shirt after diving full length into the red dirt to regain her ground, the physio comes on to bandage up her scraped elbow.

95th over: India 314-7 (Deepti 24, Vastrakar 18) Deepti angles the bat and sends Garth’s first ball flying through the yawning gap between second and fourth slip. A handful more singles, to make it seven from the over. Do drop me a line, to say hi. My caffeine hit is starting to wear off.

94th over: India 307-7 (Deepti 18, Vastrakar 17) Deepti pushes two through the covers, well stopped on the rope by King. And Vastrakar tickles four off the hip down to the fine leg boundary.

93rd over: India 300-7 (Deepti 15, Vastrakar 13) Garth for Jonassen. Vastrakar content to just play her back. A quiet period of play this – will the Aussies knock over the last three, or can India stretch the lead past 120?

92nd over: India 300-7 (Deepti 15, Vastrakar 13) Cheatle again, pony tail swinging from side to side. Vastrakar brings up the India 300 with a dab to deep backward square leg, to enthusiastic applause from a female-heavy crowd.

91st over: India 299-7 (Deepti 15, Vastrakar 12) Jonassen replaces Gardner after that expensive over, Healy pushes and pulls her fielders into position. Jonassen bowls full, four singles from it.

90th over: India 295-7 (Deepti 13, Vastrakar 10) No nice looseners from Cheatle, just the single to Deepti.

89th over: India 294-7 (Deepti 12, Vastrakar 10) At last, the new ball! And Ash Gardner takes it. The very first delivery is driven by Deepti, past a ducking silly mid off to the boundary – flies off the bat. And four more, this time from Vastrakar, driven with panache through extra cover. The lead creeps up to 75.

88th over: India 285-7 (Deepti 7, Vastrakar 6) New ball still firmly in pocket. Cheatle again. Deepti picks up a single to whoops from the echoing stadium, Vastrakar takes one too.

87th over: India 283-7 (Deepti 6, Vastrakar 5) We know how Deepti likes to have a swing, but she carefully plays out another maiden from Gardner.

86th over: India 283-7 (Deepti 6, Vastrakar 5) Australia stick with the old ball, but Healy calls over Cheatle. Faded white warpaint across her cheekbones, she zips in, left arm over. A maiden.

85th over: India 283-7 (Deepti 6, Vastrakar 5) Deepti plays out another Gardner maiden.

84th over: India 283-7 (Deepti 6, Vastrakar 5) In the kitchen, my husband is compiling a list of his friends’ top five Christmas songs for a Guess Who quiz later. Current offerings include: Stay, East 17; Fairytale of New York, The Pogues, 7 o’clock news, Simon and Garfunkel. I’ll toss Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin Stevens into the mix. And Wombling Merry Christmas. Just a single from the over.

83rd over: India 282-7 (Deepti 5, Vastrakar 5) Vastrakar has the misfortune to face a fizzing Gardner. Not totally convincing, props forwards, pops an inside edge into the air, tentative – and then, ah, a huge four pancaked to the legside boundary.

Evening session

82nd over: India 277-7 (Deepti 5, Vastrakar 1) On stroll the Aussies, followed shortly afterwards by Deepti and Vastrakar at an overcast Mumbai, air pollution levels currently “unhealthy” on the Live AQI Index. The PM2.5 concentration currently 21.4 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value. In sprints McGrath – the ball still old. Just a single and a leg bye from it.

Tea: India 276-7, lead Australia by 57 runs

81st over: India 276-7 (Deepti 4, Vastrakar 1) The Aussies continue with the old favourite for now, it has been behaving very nicely for them over the last hour. Gardner fizzes through an over, just one off it, before grabbing her sunglasses and leading Australia off the field. Four wickets in the session – and the flow very much with Australia. Time for me grab a coffee – back shortly.

80th over: India 275-7 (Deepti 3, Vastrakar 1) McGrath, suncream smeared across her nose, bustles in, on the brink of tea. A maiden. Will Australia take the new ball?

79th over: India 275-7 (Deepti 3, Vastrakar 1) A fourth wicket for the excellent, tireless Gardner. The end of a gorgeous innings from Jemimah – a very full ball that she couldn’t control.

WICKET! Jemimah c Sutherland b Gardner 73 (India 274-7)

Drives, on bended knee, elegantly, but uppishly, and Sutherland is waiting in the covers. Jemimah drops her head in frustration.

78th over: India 273-6 (Jemimah Rodrigues 73, Deepti 2) Gorgeous from Jemimah, angled away over short mid-wicket for four.

77th over: India 269-6 (Jemimah Rodrigues 69, Deepti 2) Jemimah attempts two sweeps and misses both off Gardner – convinced the sweep is not a great idea on this pitch. That being said, Jemimah has two fifties in two Tests, and I …don’t.

76th over: India 268-6 (Jemimah Rodrigues 68, Deepti 2) A bowling change as McGrath comes on for Garth. No sweeties for the Indians. McGrath’s last ball jumps up and raps Deepti on the finger. Magic spray comes out.

75th over: India 268-6 (Jemimah Rodrigues 68, Deepti 2) The clever wonks on the television have worked out that the bounce is 10cm lower at the Wankhede than at the DV Patil stadium for the England Test. But not every ball. QED, batting is more tricky here and you don’t want to have to chase too many in the fourth innings. One off Gardner’s over.

74th over: India 267-6 (Jemimah Rodrigues 68, Deepti 1) Daybreak is creeping into Manchester, wearing a dull grey cloak. It’s 31 degrees currently in Mumbai and Garth looks hot as she rustles in. A couple of singles.

73rd over: India 265-6 (Jemimah Rodrigues 67, Deepti 0) Apologies to India, whom I seem to have cursed since I took over from Jim at drinks – they’ve lost three for five in less than three overs. The lead still only 46.

WICKET! Yastika lbw Gardner 1 (India 265-6)

An ill advised sweep, inelegant, hit on the back pad half way up the thigh. Given out on the field, Yastika reviews, but it would have hit low on the off stump.

72nd over: India 264-5 (Jemimah Rodrigues 66, Yastika 1) Off the field, Harmanpreet stares through a glass darkly, with folded arms. Garth, whose radar was a bit off at the start of the innings, is all bustle and on point this time around.

71st over: India 263-5 (Jemimah Rodrigues 65, Yastika 1) Gardner reels into her 26th over, huge breakthrough – Australia have turned it around since drinks. Do drop me a line this December 22, send the OBO your best mince pie, summer cocktail tips.

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