They came into existence in 1973 and have been playing since 1976, but the current tour of Australia is only the 13th overseas tour for India Women in Test cricket. In the 17 Test matches that they have played away from home, India have won three and lost four. All four defeats have come in Australia.
Playing their first Day-Night Test, India have an uphill task against Meg Lanning’s Australians, regarded as one of the most extraordinary cricketing units.
Lack of experience against the pink ball and India’s historical struggles in Australia stand against the tourists. In the nine Tests they have played against Australia, they have lost four and drawn five. Their only positive is the momentum from the ODI series, almost winning the second game and breaking Australia’s incredible winning streak in the third.
As Mithali Raj’s team eyes their first Test win over Australia, we take a look at all the Test tours of India.
India in New Zealand, 1976/77
Result: Draw 0-0 (1 Test)
The one-off Test in Dunedin saw a competitive four-day affair, with India ending at 45/3 in a chase of 249. Leg-spinner Shubhangi Kulkarni’s 4-63 was followed by captain Shanta Rangaswamy’s only Test hundred.
India in Australia, 1976/77
Result: Australia 1-0 (1 Test)
Four days after their first overseas Test, India travelled across the Tasman Sea to play Australia in a Test match in Perth. Kulkarni continued her rich form and claimed a six-for. However, batting let India down. Rangaswamy was India’s lone half-centurion in the 147-run defeat.
India in England, 1986
Result: Draw 0-0 (3 Tests)
In Indian’s first tour to England, the women stayed at fans’ homes, struggled with local food and had the pressure of not losing a Test match, as there was a buzz that Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) would lose their funding.
Their complaints on sun reflecting off car windshields in the first Test was viewed as time-wasting tactics. Their over rate was criticised. The women were not accustomed to cold and the environment but still put up a brave show to draw all three Tests.
Sandhya Agarwal was the highest run-getter in the series, with 359 runs at 71.8, crafting two big hundreds. Kulkarni, who led the side in the first Test match, was India’s second-highest run-getter with 256 runs at 65. Captain Diana Edulji was the pick of the bowlers with nine wickets at 24.5, going at under two an over.
The tour ensured that women’s cricket stayed afloat in India. Not too far away, the men’s team were creating history, with Dilip Vengsarkar feasting on the English bowlers. Sunil Gavaskar, an active columnist alongside playing, wrote positively about the women’s team.
India in Australia, 1990/91
Result: Australia 2-0 (3 Tests)
Playing Australia in their backyard has always been a challenging proposition for teams from the subcontinent. Escaping a defeat at Sydney, the Indians slumped to big defeats in Adelaide and Melbourne. India struggled in both batting and bowling departments to be outplayed.
India in New Zealand, 1994/95
Result: Draw 0-0 (1 Test)
Eighteen years after making their Test debut in New Zealand, India arrived at the shores to play another Test match. Playing at the picturesque Nelson, India fielded nine debutants.
Debutant Chanderkanta Kaul top-scored with 75, whereas fellow debutant Neetu David, who later became a colossus of Indian cricket, picked four wickets. The Test ended in a draw.
India in England, 1999
Result: Draw 0-0 (1 Test)
A closely contested draw could have gone either way. Though England managed a 128-run first-innings lead, off-spinner Purnima Rau brought India back in the Test with an incredible spell of 20-10-24-5. Chasing 252, India were 132 for no loss at one point before a collapse took them to 223/8 as the match ended in a draw.
India in South Africa, 2002
Result: India 1-0 (1 Test)
Almost five years before India Men first won a Test match in South Africa, India Women team ticked off the list, at Paarl. Electing to bat, India put up a strong batting show, with Anju Jain (52), captain Anjum Chopra (80), Mithali Raj (55), Hemlata Kala (64) and Mamatha Maben (50) scoring half-centuries. South Africa struggled after India posted 404/9. A combined bowling effort in both innings saw India through.
The 10-wicket win was their first overseas Test win.
India in England, 2002
Result: Draw 0-0 (1 Test)
Four months after the win in South Africa, India travelled to England to play a Test match in Taunton. India dominated the contest, with Raj slamming 214, the then highest Test score in women’s cricket. Chopra, Kala and Jhulan Goswami also contributed with fifties.
Earlier, David and Goswami had claimed four and three wickets respectively. Despite a strong show from India, the match ended in a draw.
India in Australia, 2005/06
Result: Australia 1-0 (1 Test)
After 15 years, India toured Australia and were completely outplayed by the hosts. Goswami was the lone notable performer with a four-wicket haul. Australian all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar top-scored in the Test with 72. She claimed a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings to complete an innings defeat.
India in England, 2006
Result: India 1-0 (2 Tests)
Despite managing a first-innings lead in the first Test at Leicester, India escaped through a draw, courtesy of a 77-run seventh-wicket stand between Rumeli Dhar (57) and Amita Sharma (50).
One of India’s greatest moments came at Taunton after they downed the host by five wickets to script their maiden Test match and series win in England. The foundation was laid by the Chopra-Raj partnership of 136 for the third wicket before Goswami claimed a 10-wicket haul in the Test.
Suffering jitters in the chase of 98, skipper Raj’s patient 22 not out saw India through.
India in England, 2014
Result: India 1-0 (1 Test)
Eight years after scripting history in England, India set foot on the English soil for a one-off Test match with seven debutants. Niranjana Nagarajan – one of the seven – claimed four wickets to skittle England for 92. She later top-scored with 27 to help India to a 22-run lead.
Goswami got four wickets in the second innings to ensure India the chase was in the gettable range.
Chasing 181, debutant Smriti Mandhana and Raj got patient fifties to help India win their second Test in England.
Not too far from the women’s action, the M.S. Dhoni-led Indian men’s struggled with a 3-1 loss in the same country.
India in England, 2021
Result: Draw 0-0 (1 Test)
India finally played a Test after seven years, fielding five debutants. In response to England’s 396, 17-year-old debutant Shafali Verma and Mandhana lit up Bristol with a 167-run opening stand. Verma missed her hundred by four runs. Despite the start, India squandered the advantage and conceded a 165-run lead.
Asked to follow on, Verma slammed 63, with good support from Deepti Sharma. But a flurry of wickets meant India stared at a defeat before Sneh Rana (80*) and Taniya Bhatia (44*) put up a defiant show to save the Test match.