Australia v India: women’s Test, day two – live!

Tea will be taken from 7:10-7:30pm with the hope that play will resume after that. So sit tight and get yourself some tea, or perhaps something stronger on a Friday night, and hopefully all those Queenslanders know what they’re on about and we’ll see some cricket soon.

I’m hearing the Queenslanders around the ground remain confident this will blow over, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I suppose we have to defer to them as the experts and as someone who witnessed an MBBL final and a T20 World Cup semi-final at the SCG that were both played in what appeared to be impossible rain circumstances in early 2020, I have to accept that there’s always a chance!

Some more pictures from the ground, courtesy of the delightful Bharat Sundaresan. I’d love to be showing you some cricket shots right now, but rain and hail is all I can offer.

While we’re taking a little break, it seems like as good a time as any to relive this incredible run out from Annabel Sutherland.

It’s been an interesting little period of play. India are approaching it very cautiously, they don’t appear to want to lose any more wickets. But it really seems like they should be instead focusing on pushing up their run rate and getting Australia out there batting under lights and take some quick wickets. A win in the Test would be huge for India in the context of the series – it would be disappointing to finish this with a draw. The bad weather reduces the likelihood of a result, but some aggressive batting from India could turn things around and give them a shot at a win.

There’s some lightning in the vicinity, so everyone’s heading off the field. Hopefully it will be a quicker storm than last night’s one!

101st over: India 275-6 (Bhatia 0, Sharma 12) Molineux again and Sharma plays a neat little shot to leg gully to get off strike on the second ball of the over. Bhatia doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get off the mark, she’s playing very safe and defensively to the length Molineux is bowling.

100th over: India 275-5 (Bhatia 0, Sharma 11) McGrath resumes and the ball is starting to move a bit under the lights. A misfield from Sutherland at the start of the over gives India an easy run and McGrath follows up with a ball that doesn’t leave much room for a misfield, not allowing Bhatia to get bat on it. She started her line a little wide, but straightens it up through the over and Bhatia is content to defend.

Catastrophe for India. Raj has run herself out. She dabbed Molineux to midwicket and set off for the run but realised quickly Sutherland was going to make her life hard. She aborted the sprint and attempted to turn and reclaim her ground, but she slipped, Sutherland hit the stumps direct and Raj has to trudge off. Disastrous way to go.

98th over: India 274-4 (Raj 30, Sharma 10) The lights are now in full effect at Metricon Stadium and the pinkness of the ball is in exaggerated effect. There’s still very little movement in the air or off the seam for McGrath though as she sends down an uneventful maiden.

Meanwhile on the rain radar, there is now just a narrow strip of land that has yet to be consumed by the blanket of storms coming through. That strip includes Metricon Stadium, for now.

97th over: India 274-4 (Raj 30, Sharma 10) Perry’s spell of seven overs 1/16 comes to an end, replaced by Sophie Molineux. But the left-arm spinner begins with an absolute rank half-tracker that is helped to the fine-leg fence by Sharma. It’s the same line, but slightly fuller next up, and SHARMA IS DROPPED down the legside by Healy. Tough chance, but that one glanced off the bat in and out of Healy’s gloves.

96th over: India 269-4 (Raj 30, Sharma 5) McGrath settles into a full and straight line and length to Sharma, with a hint of swing into the left-hander, but this new ball is not misbehaving under lights as much as Australia might have expected.

95th over: India 267-4 (Raj 29, Sharma 4) Perry is into the seventh over of her spell. It seems like she’s really committed to bowling herself into form in this session. It might be one over too much though. Her length is too short in the main, then she offers Sharma a full toss to square drive to the point boundary and get off the mark.

94th over: India 263-4 (Raj 29, Sharma 0) McGrath replaces Brown, but her line is all over the place. Raj collects a couple behind square-leg.

93rd over: India 261-4 (Raj 27, Sharma 0) Deepti Sharma is out in the middle, the last of India’s frontline batters. The left-right combination remains intact.

After Raj gets an easy single to rotate the strike, Perry settles in outside Bhatia’s off-stump. The line changes to leg-stump, but Bhatia can’t time the ball away for runs, instead finding a huge leading edge that skews all the way to Mooney in the gully, who takes a superb low catch to make amends for her earlier error. Australia, and Perry in particular, have pushed hard for that dismissal since the break, and they have their reward. A huge relief for Perry after her tribulations.

92nd over: India 260-3 (Raj 26, Bhatia 19) Consecutive play-and-misses outside off stump from Bhatia, wafting her bat away from her body to Brown angling the ball across her body. Brown then loses her line and both batters work singles before a couple of wild deliveries well outside off, only one of which is assigned an extra. I reckon that might be Brown’s lot for a while.

Still we wait for the rain.

91st over: India 257-3 (Raj 25, Bhatia 18) Perry’s over is delayed while Mithali Raj is attended to by the Indian physio. She’s received a couple of blows to the inside of her left thigh and needs some attention. Replays indicate the latest of those blows was actually a very good shout for LBW. It was only a half-hearted appeal on-field but it would have been Umpire’s Call if DRS was involved. Perhaps rattled, Raj gets an outside edge but it lands short of slip.

90th over: India 257-3 (Raj 25, Bhatia 18) Shot! Short and wide from Brown and Bhatia gives it the treatment, sending it scorching to the cover boundary with a very satisfying crack off the bat. Four more! This time punishing a short ball in front of square leg. Australia’s seamers have got their lengths wrong way too often this match.

89th over: India 248-3 (Raj 24, Bhatia 10) There’s plenty of energy and atmosphere out in the middle with every Perry delivery, but there remains a lack of consistency from the pace bowler and Bhatia keeps the scoreboard moving by helping a short ball on her hip down to the fine-leg fence.

88th over: India 242-3 (Raj 23, Bhatia 5) Brown is doing a good job pitching the ball up and she’s finding some nice shape into the left-handed Bhatia. After a pretty sedate morning session there’s plenty happening out in the middle.

87th over: India 241-3 (Raj 23, Bhatia 4) Perry continues, and she’s a touch wayward to begin with, but then she finds Raj’s outside edge but it’s DROPPED BY MOONEY AT SECOND SLIP. They have to be taken. It wasn’t a great delivery, short and wide, but Raj fended at it with her hands well away from her body, and it flew quickly at waist height to Mooney’s left – more a classical gully catch. She got both hands to it but couldn’t hold on. Huge opportunity missed.

86th over: India 240-3 (Raj 23, Bhatia 3) It’s Brown, not McGrath, who joins Perry with the new ball after dinner. She’s too short to begin with, but then she finds the ideal length, drawing Raj forward and finding a touch of shape away from the right-hander three deliveries in a row. From the middle of those deliveries a thick outside edge runs along the ground and through the cordon for four.

85th over: India 235-3 (Raj 19, Bhatia 2) Perry starts the session with a beauty, getting the new ball to nip back into the right-handed Raj and strike her on her thigh. The Indian skipper responds by driving a long half-volley through extra cover for four. The remainder of the over is harmlessly outside off-stump.

The players are back out in the middle. The floodlights are on, but there’s plenty of natural light too, although it’s increasingly hazy as the clouds roll in. Australia have the new ball. Testing little spell ahead for India before the rain intervenes.

South east Queensland is getting a drenching right now, but the front has yet to reach Metricon Stadium, so we’ll be underway on time after the dinner break.

On the radar there’s a big nasty band of heavy rain heading from the country to the coastline. It’s shaped like a scythe and the tip of the blade has reached the beaches to the south of the Gold Coast with Carrara neatly placed in the middle of the curve, and so safe, for now, but an interruption seems inevitable. It just remains to be seen how long, and how many.

India continued their excellent progress this extended morning session, highlighted by Smriti Mandhana’s glorious century. Australia’s spinners kept the run-rate down, then winkled out a couple of wickets on a faultless pitch, to keep the visitors from racing out of sight. With the lights taking effect – and possibly thunderstorms – after the interval, the match situation seems set to move on apace. Be sure to joins us back here for the resumption of play around 40 minutes from now.

84th over: India 231-3 (Raj 15, Bhatia 2) As expected, Tahlia McGrath replaces Annabel Sutherland in the attack, prompting Meg Lanning to reinforce her slip cordon and tighten her 6-3 offside field. It’s all to no avail though with McGrath beginning her spell by leaking onto the pads and allowing India to rotate their right-left combination. She’s then too short and wide to the lefty Bhatia, but the Indian No 5 has yet to find any timing.

83rd over: India 230-3 (Raj 15, Bhatia 2) Right on cue, here is Ellyse Perry. And it’s a decent over from the superstar allrounder, keeping Bhatia to a maiden, and beating the bat for pace on a couple of occasions.

82nd over: India 230-3 (Raj 15, Bhatia 2) Yowza, Sutherland begins with an enormous wide that sails for five extras miles down the legside. She eases into the rest of the over and there’s a hint of shape into the right-handed Raj, but she can’t control it and ends up leaking another legside boundary, this time off the pads. The youngster has bowled well today and looked the pick of the seamers, deserving of the new ball, but that might be her lot for a while with Perry and McGrath itching for a dart.

Now Australia take the new ball and Annabel Sutherland will have first use.

81st over: India 219-3 (Raj 13, Bhatia 2) Bhatia gets off the mark with a couple squeezed behind point, and she reinstates the left-right partnership.

This being Australia, the conversation on TV is all about whether Raut walking was “against the spirit of the game”.

(Dan is a humorist, btw.)

Molineux continues with the old ball, for now. Australia have control of the run-rate and are probably happy to delay taking the new Kookaburra until twilight begins to set in.

They’ll be very happy now because Molineux has winkled out the stubborn Raut with a perfect left-arm finger-spinner’s dismissal, flighting the ball into the right-hander from around the wicket and spinning the ball away, grazing the finest of outside edges from the forward press and into the safe gloves of Healy. The appeal was a bit half-hearted, and the umpire appeared to shake his head dismissively, but then out of nowhere Raut decided to walk. Surprising scenes on the Gold Coast and a huge bonus for Australia.

80th over: India 217-2 (Raut 36, Raj 13) A rare stifled shout from Australia as Sutherland nips one back to find the inside edge of Raj’s bat. Later in the over India’s No 4 throws her hands at a wider one outside off stump and it flies over (through!?) gully with the fielder little more than a lace curtain in the way of Raj’s bullet. Wareham, in the gully, is in the game soon afterwards when another Raj drive heads her direction but it arrives on the half-volley and the weather-beaten fielders stand frustrated with hands on their heads.

Now, will Meg Lanning take the new ball?

79th over: India 212-2 (Raut 36, Raj 9) Sophie Molineux’s first turn to bowl today, and she lands her left-arm finger-spinners from around the wicket to the right-handed Raut exactly where she wanted to. The only runs, two of them, arrive off a tick outside edge with Raut playing with her hands away from her body to a lovely slower flighted delivery outside off stump.

78th over: India 210-2 (Raut 34, Raj 9) Just the single from Sutherland’s latest over.

77th over: India 209-2 (Raut 33, Raj 9) Gardner tries to spice things up by coming around the wicket to the two right-handers. The run of dots extends to 23, but it ends when Raj decides to put some momentum through an offside push and watches the ball dance its way through the shadows to the rope.

76th over: India 205-2 (Raut 33, Raj 5) Make that 20 dot-balls in a row. Sutherland has her fourth maiden. This match has entered the doldrums.

75th over: India 205-2 (Raut 33, Raj 5) Another maiden, this time from Gardner. The grind is real. India have to be careful they don’t grind to a halt here. They have the ascendancy, but their window to make it a match-winning position might not be too big with the likelihood of storms later on.

74th over: India 205-2 (Raut 33, Raj 5) Annabel Sutherland gets a trundle with this old ball and hits a decent line and length on her way to a maiden. She has Raut fending at fresh air outside off-stump on a couple of occasions, as is the Indian batter’s tendency, but so far she’s avoided any catchable edges.

73rd over: India 205-2 (Raut 33, Raj 5) If the grind involves Raj sweeping Gardner so beautifully for four, I’m all for it. That was a lovely stroke to punctuate another watchful over.

72nd over: India 200-2 (Raut 32, Raj 1) 200 up for India. Another over of seam from Darcie Brown that only reinforces everybody’s opinion of this pitch as flat and evenly-paced. While Raj gets her eye in and Raut continues doing her thing, this could be a bit of a grind until the tea break.

71st over: India 198-2 (Raut 31, Raj 1) Lanning is upping the pressure on Raj, bringing in a slip, silly point and a short leg for the wicket-taker Gardner. Raj is predictably watchful, and after a bye rotates the strike, Raut fails to punish a full toss outside off-stump.

70th over: India 197-2 (Raut 31, Raj 1) Darcie Brown has the ball in her hands for the first time on day two, taking over from Wareham who looked to lose her control in her previous over. Again with the seamers there’s not much doing, and India pick up a couple of easy singles, including Raj getting off the mark.

A quick weather update for you. The Gold Coast is right on the toe end of this warning zone.

69th over: India 195-2 (Raut 30, Raj 0) Wicket maiden for Gardner who now has figures of 1/17 from 18 overs. As well as the wicket she teases the outside edge of new batter Mithali Raj. Chance now for Australia to up the pressure and then cash in with the second new ball just 11 overs away.

Out of nothing Australia have the breakthrough! Gardner is rewarded for her control after Mandhana left her crease to execute one of her serene drives through the V, but she doesn’t get to the pitch of the ball and hits the ball straight to McGrath stationed at a very straight mid-off exactly for that opportunity. A brilliant knock comes to a end.

68th over: India 195-1 (Mandhana 127, Raut 30) Wareham overpitches on a couple of occasions this over, but gets away without too much damage. Raut drives one full-toss for a couple through the covers to bring up the 100 partnership, but then fails to connect with one on leg-stump that needed punishing.