PTI
Perth
Jemimah Rodrigues struck a fighting half-century but India’s batting unit struggled against disciplined Australian pace bowling to be dismissed for 198 on the opening day of the one-off day-night Test here on Friday.
Rodrigues top-scored with a fluent 52 off 84 balls, but lacked substantial support as the visitors were undone by swing and seam generated by Annabel Sutherland and debutant Lucy Hamilton.
Sutherland claimed four wickets for 46 runs while Hamilton impressed with three for 31 as Australia justified their decision to bowl first.
Left-arm pacer Hamilton provided the early breakthrough by dismissing Smriti Mandhana in the sixth over with a delivery that jagged back sharply.
Shafali Verma (35) showed promise but edged a moving delivery from Sutherland to wicketkeeper Beth Mooney, while debutant Pratika Rawal (18), captain Harmanpreet Kaur (19) and Deepti Sharma (7) departed without making major contributions as India slipped to 107 for five.
Rodrigues briefly revived the innings with a 43-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Richa Ghosh (11), taking India to 150 before both fell in quick succession.
Lower-order resistance from debutants Kashvee Gautam (34 not out) and Sayali Satghare (7) added a valuable 38 runs for the ninth wicket to push India close to the 200-mark.
India’s bowlers then made early inroads with Satghare removing opener Georgia Voll with a sharply swinging delivery.
Phoebe Litchfield (9) and captain Alyssa Healy (13), playing her final match for Australia, also fell as the hosts slipped to 58 for three.
However, Ellyse Perry (43 not out) and Sutherland (20 not out) guided Australia safely to 96 for three at stumps, trailing India by 102 runs.
