IND-W vs AUS-W: "For Indian Fans...." - Sneh Rana Dedicates India's Historic Win Over Australia To Fans

The Indian women’s cricket team led by Harmanpreet Kaur won their 2nd consecutive one-off Test match against Australia just a few days after beating the England Women’s team at the same venue.

Upon the historic win which was India’s first over Australia, all-rounder Sneh Rana dedicated the victory to the Indian fans who supported the team from the stands and the TV screens.

“A Test match in India is happening after a long time, so this win is right at the top. For Indian fans also this win is huge. The players who are growing will see this win and want to play more Test cricket,” Sneh Rana said in a post-match presentation.

She claimed that this particular victory would be remembered for a long time and that the upcoming generation would take inspiration from it and would want to play the longest format of the game even more. Sneh Rana was determined as the player of the match for her major contribution with the ball and a minor contribution with the bat.

Rana bowled spells of 3/56 in the first innings including 4 maidens and also scored 9 runs off 57 balls in India’s 1st inning with the bat. She followed it up with another brilliant performance with the ball in Australia’s 2nd inning, picking up 4 wickets for 63 runs including 5 maidens.

In the 1st innings, she removed the dangerous-looking Tahlia McGrath for 50 and 2 tailenders – Alana King and Lauren Cheatle. Later on in Australia’s 2nd inning, Sneh Rana took the wickets of 3 important batters – Phoebe Litchfield for 18, Ellyse Perry for 45, and Annabel Sutherland for 27 before claiming her 4th wicket by once again removing Alana King.

The 29-year-old Dehradun-born all-rounder was playing in just 3rd Test match of her career. Rana made her Women’s Test debut on 16th June 2021 against England at Bristol. On her debut itself, Sneh Rana picked 4 wickets in the 1st inning in 39.2 overs including 4 maidens.

When the Three Lions women’s team had come for the one-off Test last week, Rana picked up a total of 6 wickets, 2 in the 1st and 4 in the 2nd innings. Therefore, it will be safe to say that Sneh Rana is making a very good habit of picking 4 wickets in a Test match which is a very positive sign for Amol Mazumdar and Harmanpreet Kaur.

“I Have Always Wanted To Take Wickets And Stand Up For My Team” – Player Of The Match Sneh Rana

During India’s 1st inning with the bat, Sneh Rana surprisingly walked out to bat at number 3 to replace Shafali Varma who got out for 40. Though Rana could not score much but she showed that if given the chance and opportunity, she could definitely do well with the bat.

“It feels amazing, standing here and receiving this award. And a great Test win. No one was calling me a night-watchman, because they knew I can bat. First time I was batting with Smriti, it felt well,” Rana added.

Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side scored 406 in response to Australia’s 1st inning total of 219. The Aussies who are known to handle pressure very well, succumbed to India’s lead and were all out for 261 in the 3rd innings, leaving 75 as the target for India to complete a historic win.

The Indians chased it down successfully by the 19th over and handed Australia Women their first Test loss since 2015. Up next, both the teams are all set to take part in a 3-match ODI series starting from 28th December with the 2nd and 3rd matches taking place on 30th December and 2nd January.