Mumbai, Dec 23 (IANS): Australian batters did not deliberately bat slowly on the third day of the one-off women's Test at the Wankhede Stadium to deny India the opportunity to force a result on the fourth day, said Australian allrounder Ellyse Perry.
Australia scored 233/5 in 90 overs, at a rate of 2.58 runs whereas they were all out for 219 in their first innings, scoring at 2.18 runs per over despite the falling wickets. In comparison, India scored at an overall run rate of 3.20, posting 406 off 126 overs in their first innings.
But Perry said it was not a deliberate ploy on their part to score at a slower rate. She said they went slow because of the conditions.
"I think conditions play a role in that and the position of the game, certainly no conscious approach to slow down or score slowly, you know. For large parts of our partnership, I think we were going at three and a half and over at least. So, I think it was really just about playing what was in front of us," said the 33-year-old batter.
Perry and Tahlia McGrath raised 84 runs in around 29 overs while McGrath and skipper Alyssa Healy raised 66 runs for the fourth wicket partnership in 30 overs.
"I think that was some really good patches of bowling from the Indian team. those other patches where we probably scored more freely and, you know, that's just the beauty of Test match cricket. So I think we've displayed what's in front of us today. And it's been no deliberate approach in any way," said the seasoned Australian allrounder.
She said the pitch has changed since the first day and has gone slower.
"I think it's changed a bit, candidly speaking, I didn't spend long out there in the first inning, so I can't really comment too much on that. But, you know, it's obviously taking a little bit of turn, particularly from, this end (Tata End), I think it's taking a bit more turn than perhaps from the other end, you know, sort of saw quite a few balls keep low.
"It's probably pretty dominant front foot, sort of, batting conditions in a lot of senses. But, yeah, I guess there's not a lot of pace in the wicket either. And that's probably been taken out of the game. Although, you know, Annabelle this morning with their short balls was still effective. So I think, you know, there's still plenty of opportunity to score on this wicket. But yeah as things go on I think it's going to get lower and slower," she said.
Perry said there were some rough patches at one end which were a matter of concern for the batters.
"I think from going from this (Tata) end, there's a bit more in the wicket, a little bit more turn, a bit more abrasive and sort of broken-up patches at the batters' end. But I think from the other end it's probably still sliding on. But if you look at how Harman bowled from this end, it looks like there is a lot more in there," she said.
Perry said the Australians would look to score as many runs as possible and then put pressure on the Indian batters by utilising the deterioration in the fourth-day pitch.