Kaur's twin strikes help India reduce Oz to 233/5

Mumbai : Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's (2/23) golden arm came to India Women's rescue with two late wickets as the hosts endured a challenging outing in the one-off Test here on Saturday, with Australia leading by 46 runs at stumps on the third day.

Kaur brought herself on in the third session after India tried almost every trick in their arsenal with the ball but failed to make inroads, as a resolute Australian side overhauled the hosts' 187-run lead in the first innings with consummate ease.

Kaur cleaned up Tahlia McGrath (73 from 177 balls, 10 fours) who hit a second consecutive fifty in the Test and snaffled the dangerous Alyssa Healy (32) after a sudden burst of aggression. Before dismissing her counterpart, Kaur fired a sharp return throw at Healy, who took an evasive action and the ball raced to the ropes as it deflected off the Australian skipper's bat.

Kaur appealed against Healy for obstructing the field which was rejected by on field umpires Anil Chaudhary and N Janani. On the next ball, Kaur had Healy out leg-before while attempting to sweep. Annabel Sutherland (12) and Ashleigh Gardner (7) were at the crease at stumps with Australia reaching 233/5 in second innings.

It was Australia all the way on third day with their seamers unleashing a short-ball attack on the Indian tail, which folded in a little over half an hour into the day's play with 30 runs added for the loss of last three wickets. Sutherland (2/41) was Australia's primary weapon as she claimed two wickets in the form of overnight batter Pooja Vastrakar (47) and Renuka Singh (8), while Kim Garth accounted for Deepti Sharma (78) but not before the Indians reset a couple of records.

India's first-innings total of 406 is now their highest ever in Test cricket against Australia. A 122-run stand for the eighth wicket between Deepti and Vastrakar is India's highest in the format and second best for any side in the world.

Deepti was India's top-scorer with 78 from 171 balls with nine fours while Vastrakar missed her maiden fifty by a narrow margin of three runs. With 187 in deficit, Australia openers Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield began well but both were guilty of throwing away their starts.

Richa Ghosh deserved full credit for running out Mooney for 33 (37 balls, 7 fours) after the batter carelessly ventured out of her crease after defending a delivery from Sneh Rana (2/54). Ghosh, positioned at silly point, hurled the ball back at the wickets while Mooney seemed to have lacked awareness of getting back into the crease.

Brief scores (Day 3):

Australia Women 219 & 233/5 in 90 overs (Ellyse Perry 45, Tahila McGrath 73, Alyssa Healy 32; Harmanpreet Kaur 2-23, Sneh Rana 2-53) lead India Women 406 all out in 126.3 overs (Deepti Sharma 78, Smriti Mandhana 74, Jemimah Rodrigues 73; Richa Ghosh 52, Pooja Vastrakar 47; Ashleigh Gardner 4-100, Annabel Sutherland 2-41, Kim Garth 2-58) by 46 runs.