Three years ago today (October 3), the Indian women’s cricket team tied Australia in a pink-ball Test at the Carrara Oval. The two teams played each other in a Test match for the first time in 15 years. Even though the score was a tie, India clearly played better than the hosts in every way.

When India had the chance to declare with a 242-run lead before tea on Day 4, Mithali Raj could have been less scared. But the tourists kept going for a few more overs and set a goal of 272 runs. Australia scored 36 runs before the end of the game, but lost two wickets.

Smriti Mandhana scored a brilliant hundred in the first innings, which was a good start for India in the one-off Test. With 377 runs, the Indian hitters did a good job of building on the base.

Later, Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma scored a tough fifty, and Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, and Mithali Raj all made important efforts.

On the first two days, the day-night Test was cut short several times. It was Ellyse Perry, Stella Campbell, and Sophie Molineux who took two wickets each for Australia. One of the best teams on Day 3 was the Indian pace unit, led by the great Jhulan Goswami.

When Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner took over, Australia was six runs behind with 119 balls to go. They worked together to score 89 runs, which saved the inning, before Gardner came back to the dugout with 51 runs. Perry was still not out at 68, but wickets kept falling at the other end.

Indian bowler Pooja Vastrakar got three wickets. While the other bowlers were on the field, Meghna Singh, Deepti Sharma, and Jhulan Goswami all took two wickets. Meg Lanning, the captain of Australia, decided to declare after making 241. It was definitely an odd choice, since the home team was still 136 runs behind India in the first test.

In the first innings, Smriti Mandhana did not last long. The Southpaw was out after 31 balls, while her starting partner Shafali Verma hit 52 runs off of 91 balls. Punam Raut also played well and got 42 runs without being out. At the end of Day 4, Australia only had 15 overs to play.

Because of her brave hundred in the first innings, Mandhana was named the player of the match.