Women’s head coach Muzumdar hails team spirit despite 10-wkt Test defeat to Australia
Amol Muzumdar
India head coach Amol Muzumdar hailed his team's character despite a crushing defeat to Australia Women in the pink-ball Test, saying the players showed commendable fight in difficult conditions here. India lost the one-off Test by 10 wickets inside three days as only Jemimah Rodrigues and Pratika Rawal could score fifties while other big guns like Smriti Mandhana and skipper Hamanpreet Kaur struggled in bowler friendly conditions at the WACA.
"A bit disappointing with the result, but really happy for the fight that we showed for the last three days. There were tough conditions but credit to Australia, they were brilliant in this Test match," Muzumdar said at the post-match press conference. The Mumbai stalwart lauded the effort of the debutants, highlighting the determination shown by the younger players despite the team ending up on the losing side.
"Somebody like Pratika showing the guts and determination, getting a half century here at WACA in the second innings. Kranti bowled her heart out and also Kashvi and Sayali in the first innings picked up those wickets. It was really heartening to see all the debutants," he said. Muzumdar said the team's packed schedule leading into the Test was challenging, though he refused to use it as an excuse for the result.
"The women's team came in after playing five T20s against Sri Lanka, then there was the WPL, and immediately we flew out to Australia and played the T20 series before the multi-format leg. It's a tough one but at the same time there are no excuses," he said. He, however, suggested that an additional practice game before a Test would be beneficial for the side. "If they can add another practice game, nothing like it," he added.
Muzumdar also expressed the team's eagerness to play more Test cricket, saying the longer format remains vital for the growth of the women's game. "We love playing this format of the game. Everyone in the dressing room was looking forward to this pink-ball Test in Perth. The more Test matches we play, the better it is for the game," he said. "I have always believed that a four-day or a five-day Test match in the international calendar is always a healthy sign for cricket."
Speaking about the challenges of the pink-ball Test, Muzumdar said the ball moved considerably under lights but added that adapting to such conditions was part of the challenge. "The pink ball was a different challenge. The ball moved quite considerably under lights, but that's the way it is. It was the same for both teams and you have to adjust to the conditions," he said.
"A pink-ball Test brings a lot of excitement. Spectators can come after work in the evening as well, so you have to consider those aspects." Reflecting on the match situation, Muzumdar said the toss played a role but admitted Australia had clearly outplayed India. "Obviously Australia won the toss and put us in. We would have done the same thing had we won the toss because the ball was swinging and seaming around at WACA.
"We probably could have played those first two sessions a little differently and put a better score on the board in the first innings," he said. Muzumdar added that the message to the players before the third day was to keep fighting and try to make a contest of the match. "The message was plain and simple: fight it out. We thought even if we got around 125 in the second innings we could still make a match out of it with the lights coming into play. But Australia were terrific in this game and they outplayed us," he added.
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