NewsMuzumdar: Facing pink ball under lights a ‘different challenge’
India coach takes heart from debutants Rawal and Satghare despite ten-wicket defeat
It was meant to be another stride forward for India’s women, yet a three-day, ten-wicket loss to Australia at the WACA has left Amol Muzumdar balancing disappointment with a hint of optimism.
First, the bare facts. India were shot out for 198 and 149 in the one-off day-night Test, Australia replying with 312 before knocking off the 36 they needed without fuss. Alyssa Healy, captaining her last Test, signed off in style. India, meanwhile, tasted defeat in the format for the first time since early 2006.
“They were tough conditions. The pink ball was a different challenge,” Muzumdar told reporters. “There’s no doubt the ball moved quite considerably under lights, but that’s the way it is. Got to adjust to the conditions. It was the same for both teams.
“We could have played those two sessions [on day one] a little differently. If we could have put a good score on the board in the first innings, [it] would have been a different story.”
Most of that first dig took place under sunshine. The real damage, though, arrived late on the second evening when a visiting line-up already 76 behind collapsed to 82 for 6. By stumps it felt done; by mid-afternoon next day it was.
Why did the pink ball bite so sharply? Night-time air in Perth can be cool and heavy, so the ball swings longer, and the harder surface keeps it bouncing. Veterans such as Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur mis-read lengths they might usually leave alone. Muzumdar, while refusing to reach for excuses, acknowledged how rare the experience still is for his side.
The coach insisted the format itself shouldn’t be blamed. “Spectators come to watch, maybe after their work in the evening, so you have to consider a lot of things,” he said, suggesting pink-ball Tests offer “a lot of excitement” and have a home in the calendar.
India had played only five Tests between 2021 and 2024 after an eight-year gap, but momentum is finally building. They will be at Lord’s in July for a historic meeting with England, something Muzumdar hopes can accelerate the learning curve. “Everyone in the dressing room, I can guarantee you that they were looking forward to this pink-ball Test match in Perth. More the merrier,” he said. “The talk in the dressing room is that the more Test matches we play, the better it is for the game.”
Bright spots did emerge. Four Indians – Pratika Rawal, Sayali Satghare, Kranti Gaud and Kashvee Gautam – earned first caps. Rawal, batting at No.3, resisted for 137 balls in the second innings, her 63 the lone score of note. Satghare’s bustling right-arm seam claimed 4 for 50 in Australia’s first innings and produced the moment of the match for India, a late inswinger that took Georgia Voll’s leg stump out of the ground.
“I thought they were fantastic,” Muzumdar said of the quartet. “Somebody like Pratika showing the guts and determination, getting the half-century here at the WACA in the second innings.”
He might also have added that Rawal did it while copping several blows on the gloves from Darcie Brown’s short stuff, an examination few newcomers enjoy. Satghare, meanwhile, managed to move the older pink ball – often trickier than with a brand-new one – and kept her length fuller than many senior colleagues.
The established names, by contrast, endured a lean outing. Mandhana’s twin failures, Harmanpreet’s miscued cut on the first morning and Deepti Sharma’s second-innings poke into the cordon all illustrated a side adjusting to conditions on the fly. Short preparation time – India arrived in Perth five days before the match – was mentioned privately, though Muzumdar kept that off the record.
Looking ahead, batting against the swinging ball in twilight remains a work in progress. Assistant coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar is understood to have requested an extra practice match under lights before the Lord’s Test; whether the schedule allows it is another matter.
Still, India return home with evidence their next generation can cope. Rawal’s composure, Satghare’s nip, Gautam’s energetic 10-over burst on debut – all were added to the notebook. Muzumdar signed off in typically understated fashion: “It was really hearten… well, heartening, let’s say, to see young players embrace the occasion. Results hurt, sure, but you learn and come again.”
For now that is all they can do: learn, and come again.
