Women Cricket: India to play against Australia in the one-off Test match begin today

Gold Coast: The Indian women's cricket team would now go through a trial by fire when it make its day-night Test debut against Australia in the one-off game beginning here on Thursday.

India and Australia last played a Test in 2006 with only Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami featuring in that game among the current players on both sides.

With the third ODI held on Sunday and the following day being a rest day, the Mithali Raj-led squad has got only two practice sessions in the lead up to the landmark Test. The visitors lost 1-2 in the shorter format series.  The squad has very little idea about how the shiny pink ball will behave during the course of the game at the Metricon Stadium.Australia, who played their lone day-night Test in November 2017, also go into the game with limited practice but their potent pace attack will be looking forward to wreaking havoc at the greenish pitch here.

India did well in



their first Test outing in seven years, drawing against England in June, but the players and experts believe the skiddy pink-ball will pose a much tougher challenge for the visitors.

"I would call it a trial by fire for the Indians. The players have hardly played with red ball in the last three four years. Day-night Test is a completely different ball game and a much tougher challenge," said former India captain and BCCI Apex Council member Shantha Rangaswamy.

"Though Australia have more Test experience than India of late, their players also haven't played a lot in the whites. Some of their key players are missing and India showed (in ODIs) that Australia are beatable," she added.

Shantha, who led India to their maiden Test win in 1976, also lauded the BCCI for resuming Test cricket for women and hoped two-day red-ball cricket will be brought back to domestic cricket.