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82nd over: Australia 295-8 (King 11, Hamilton 8) A maiden from Verma to Hamilton. The commentators are all surprised that India haven’t taken the new ball… but they’re about to do so.
81st over: Australia 295-8 (King 11, Hamilton 8) Or not. Harmanpreet has decided to continue with spin, though this expensive over may change her mind. After Hamilton sweeps for three, King clumps a boundary past mid-off.
India blow their last review when King is hit on the pad by a ball from Deepti that would have missed leg stump.
80th over: Australia 286-8 (King 5, Hamilton 5) A couple of singles from Verma’s over. And now it’s time for the second new ball.
79th over: Australia 284-8 (King 4, Hamilton 4) India’s spinners, Verma and Deepti, are racing through their overs. India want to take the second new ball as soon as possible. First, a drinks break.
78th over: Australia 283-8 (King 3, Hamilton 4) Verma tempts Hamilton with a flighted delivery from round the wicket. Hamilton crashes it through extra cover for four, a nice way to score your first runs in Test cricket.
77th over: Australia 278-8 (King 2, Hamilton 0) Australia’s lead is healthy rather than decisive, 80 runs on a pitch that is starting to offer a bit of turn. For now King and Hamilton are playing cautiously, with their main intention to quieten the close fielders. India are as energised as they have been all day.
76th over: Australia 277-8 (King 1, Hamilton 0) The new batter is the debutant Lucy Hamilton. There’s plenty of chatter as she defends her first delivery – and for the remainder of the over. A wicket maiden.
WICKET! Australia 277-8 (McGrath c Mandhana b Verma 13)
Another one gone! Tahlia McGrath bat-pads Shafali Verma’s second ball towards short leg, where Smriti Mandhana takes a quite brilliant reaction catch. Australia have slipped from 240 for 4 to 277 for 8.
75th over: Australia 277-7 (McGrath 13, King 1) Deepti continues to wheel away in pursuit of more wickets. India have a bit of hope after this mini-collapse, but they will be concerned at the prospect of batting under lights if they do wrap this innings up.
Thanks Tanya, hello everyone. That was another mighty innings from Annabel Sutherland, who now has a Sutherlandesque average of 89.37 from seven Tests. And that was after scores of 3 and 8 in her first two innings.
74th over: Australia 274-7 ( McGrath 11, King 0) Now the second-guessing begins – how much game-playing will Australia do to get India batting under lights later today. Rob Smyth will be your guide to that and much more. Thanks for all your messages, bye!
WICKET! Sutherland c Harmanpreet b Deepti 129 (Australia 273-7)
With seven overs till the new ball, Sutherland has a sudden rush of blood, gallops to the ball and tries to flay it to the ocean. Instead, she finds Harmanpreet at long on. Standing ovations all round. Well played, gorgeous innings.
73rd over: Australia 273-7 ( McGrath 10, King 0)
72nd over: Australia 269-6 (Sutherland 125, McGrath 10) Satgahare keeps it tight. I don’t think I imagined it, but the TV just flashed up that Annabel Sutherland’s average at the WACA is 324.
An email drops: “Gardner out…. We are great fans of Ash… she rarely disappoints, but it’s not her day. What a champ is Annabelle Sutherland!! Keep up the great blog.” Thanks Jane Joyce, it’s such a treat to watch women’s Test cricket.
71st over: Australia 268-6 (Sutherland 122, McGrath 7) While we’re on shadows, they are now stretching to pencil width, McGrath’s double the width of the grass cut strips. Five from Deepti’s over.
70th over: Australia 263-6 (Sutherland 122, McGrath 7) A maiden from Satghare, and a lively lbw shout against McGrath from the last ball, but no-one is very interested.
“Cricket lovers from India,” writes Conscious Minimalists. “My wife and I were wondering what you really meant by this quote below. Don’t think it’s fair to be commenting on athletes bodies?
Rana, her shadow short and squat. Some turn, and some respite for India, who now have a left hander to aim at.
Oh gosh, just to clear this up I meant that Rana’s shadow was short and squat as the sun was high. Not that she was. Though I do try to describe the players to paint a picture as most people are reading without TV coverage – a player being tall, long arms, long ponytail, looks hot and bothered/ fed up etc etc.
69th over: Australia 263-6 (Sutherland 122, McGrath 7) Deepti’s back. A wristy, oh so wristy, four from McGrath. But then plenty of oohs and aahs until Sutherland punctuates proceedings with a lofted oooh la la over mid-off for four. Nine from the over as they take drinks.
68th over: Australia 252-6 (Sutherland 117, McGrath 1) Time for some more overs from Satghare. Sutherland gets a leading edge which squirts away in uncontrolled manner. A strangled lbw appeal.
67th over: Australia 252-6 (Sutherland 117, McGrath 1) Sutherland keeps the run flowing, as she brushes a loose floater from Rana down to the fine leg boundary – and with that her Test average touches 100.
66th over: Australia 245-6 (Sutherland 110, McGrath 1)
65th over: Australia 242-6 (Sutherland 108, McGrath 0) Apologies, a few technical hitches as a computer logged me out of the system.
WICKET! Gardner b Gaud 1 (India 241-6)
The chink of light gets bigger! Exceptional bowling from Gaud who seams most of the over away from Gardner, before bringing back the last off the seam and rattling it through the gate and into the stumps. Gaud holds both arms out as if to say – that’s how you do it.
64th over: Australia 241-6 (Sutherland 107, McGrath 0)
63rd over: Australia 241-5 (Sutherland 107, Gardner 1) India hold onto a chance from Mooney at last, and see a chink of light through the window – Australia’s lead already 43. Defensive field placings give Gardner an easy single to get off the mark to her first ball, much to Langer’s (?) disgust.
WICKET! Mooney c Rodrigues b Rana 19 (Australia 240-5)
Great catch! Low down, scoooped up at short cover by Rodrigues as Mooney flaps at Rana.
62nd over: Australia 240-4 (Sutherland 107, Mooney 19) Sunderland hauls Gaud over the leg side for four, then Mooney joins in, lacing four through backward point.
61st over: Australia 229-4 (Sutherland 101, Mooney 14)
A hundred for Sutherland!
60th over: Australia 226-4 (Sutherland 100, Mooney 12) Gaud, hair short and neat, pulls at her shirt. Lovely rhythmic run, lean like a greyhound, back of a length, then a short one – Sutherland flays…a top edge! but it rolls safely away and that’s Sutherland’s fourth Test century, the first Australian women to score four Test centuries, and the first woman to score three consecutive Test centuries. What. A. Star. And just 24. She raises her bat, gets a hug from Mooney and smiles.
Second session
59th over: Australia 220-4 (Sutherland 93, Mooney 10) Rana resumes. Three singles from it. A nice relaxed start to the session.
“Keep the reports flowing. We are keeping up here in Thailand with you only. No TV coverage….” well thank you Jan and Rosie in Khao Lak. The TV has currently switched to the FA cup so hopefully that will resolve itself in the next ten minutes….
Tea - Australia 217-4, lead by 19
58th over: Australia 217-4 (Sutherland 93, Mooney 10) Deepti gets surprise bounce, from nowhere, but the over passes without other incident and everyone marches in for shade, sustenance and water.
Beautiful batting from Perry and Sutherland this morning, and India didn’t help themselves by dropping Mooney twice just as she got to the wicket. They slowed the run rate down considerably though before tea, and the wicket is starting to turn. Something to hold onto during the break.
Time for me to have a stretch and make some breakfast, back soon.
57th over: Australia 215-4 (Sutherland 92, Mooney 9) I should have mentioned that Australia took the lead some time ago – leading now by 17. Four byes
56th over: Australia 208-4 (Sutherland 90, Mooney 8) Another drop off poor old Deepti, worse still it was Sutherland, who goes to jimmy her away but only turns the ball into Ghosh behind the stump who, in a state of panic, can’t hold on.
55th over: Australia 208-4 (Sutherland 90, Mooney 8) And Mooney gets a boundary away, whisking Rana late in front of point for four. She smiles with relief. Ten minutes or so till lunch.
