Richa Ghosh made her Test debut in India’s ongoing one-off Test against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The wicketkeeper-batter made her debut memorable with an important half-century on day 2 of the match. She scored 52 off 104 balls which included seven boundaries. She played some quality shots and built a great partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues to help India reach the Australian total and go beyond it.
Richa shared her happiness and mentioned the importance of her Test debut to her family in the press conference on day 2.
“My family and especially my father are really happy,” Richa told the media after day two ended.
“They always wanted their daughter to get a Test cap. Every parent wants that. A Test cap is a big thing. He couldn’t express himself. Him just being with me at this moment is a big thing for me,” added Richa.
Richa also shared how she got to know about her debut and what she felt at that time.
“Sir (coach) told me the night before that I’ll be playing the Test against Australia. I was really happy that I am getting a chance to play Test. I didn’t let the pressure get to me. I was thinking that I have already played ODIs and T20s against Australia so it’s similar. It’s just that since it’s a Test match, it might require some time,” said the debutant.
Richa also shared how she assessed the pitch first while batting with Smriti Mandhana and then how she capitalised while building a partnership with Jemimah.
“Me and Smriti Di (Smriti Mandhana) took our time to assess the pitch and the bounce. Once we got to know about the pitch, we shared it with the dressing room and all the batters who were coming out to bat,” Richa said.
“Really feeling good about my knock. When Jamie (Jemimah) came out to bat we only talked about building a partnership from there. She encouraged me a lot,” she added.
“WHERE IS PERRY?”
While the pitch had some odd bounce where the ball at times kept low or bounced extra, the most experienced bowler of the Australian camp was nowhere to be seen. Ellyse Perry didn’t bowl a single over on Day 2 of the match.
There were talks about a possible niggle or an injury but the Australian coach Shelley Nitschke cleared the air in the press conference after the day ended.
“She’s fine,” Shelley told the media during the press conference.
“We have so many bowling options in our team and unfortunately she didn’t get an opportunity today. I think the spinners were doing a really good job at times. And I think we showed there too that, probably the likes of Kim Garth and Talia McGrath, they also played a role. So we’ve got so many options. Unfortunately, Elise missed out today,” the coach said.
This one-off Test between India and Australia will be followed by a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20I series between the two teams.
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