It was only on December 16 that India set the record of the biggest Test victory by a margin of runs after they beat England by 326 runs at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

Deepti Sharma stole the show and won the Player of the Match award for picking up nine wickets and scoring 87 runs. However, debutants Jemimah Rodrigues and Shubha Satheesh also impressed with knocks of 68 and 69 respectively. Yastika Bhatia also batted beautifully for his 67 in the first innings.

England had no clue about how to counter the Indian spinners as the pitch in Navi Mumbai kept becoming challenging to bat on.

After trouncing England, India are all set to lock horns with Australia in the Only Test, starting December 21 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Big challenge for India

However, India have to make history if they are to win back-to-back Tests. Out of 10 Women’s Tests since their first meeting back in 1977, India have never beaten Australia.

In their most recent meeting, back in September 2021, India drew their Test against Australia at the Carrara Oval in Canberra.

Going into the game, India have an injury concern as there are doubts over Satheesh’s participation in the game. The left-handed batter sustained a finger injury and did not bat in the second innings against England.

If Satheesh doesn’t play, India can either play Richa Ghosh as a specialist batter or bring in all-rounder Harleen Deol. India have the option of Saika Ishaque, but they may not change their tried-and-tested spin trio of Deepti, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Sneh Rana.

New era for Australia

Australia, in the meantime, is looking to go into a new era without Meg Lanning, who has retired from all forms of international cricket. Earlier, Alyssa Healy took over as the full-time skipper of the team with Tahlia McGrath as her deputy.

For Australia, Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen and Ellyse Perry are expected to play an important part. Amongst the current set of players, Perry has played the most Tests (11). In fact, she is only 124 runs short of becoming the second Australian woman after Karen Rolton to score 1000 runs in Test cricket. Apart from that, she also has 38 Test wickets to her name.

Beth Mooney has been a stalwart of their batting and her role at the top of the order is going to hold a lot of importance. Annabel Sutherland is one of the most exciting young all-rounders and the focus will be on her as well.

Australia’s threatening spinners

Australia has a power-packed spin attack, including Alan King, Jonassen, Gardner and Georgia Wareham, who are all world-class prospects. Skipper Healy sounded confident of her spinners doing well in Indian conditions.

“I’m actually really intrigued to see what sort of wickets they prepare. I think we’ve got a really, really good spin attack, so do that at your own peril,” Healy said earlier this month.

“Don’t get me wrong, the Indians have got a strong spin attack as well, but we’ve got some of the best leg-spinners in the world. We’ve got Ash Gardner, who took nine wickets on English soil with the ball in hand, so prepare spinning wickets at your own demise,” she added.

The upcoming Test is expected to be all about how the batters tackle the spin attacks of their oppositions. India’s batters are in form, but Australian spinners come in with a lot of experience on their shoulders.

Without a doubt, an exciting Test match is on the cards.