Leader of the Indian women’s team pace attack, Shikha Pandey is excited about the prospect of playing two Test matches in a year. The Indian eves will be playing their first Test match in six years when they lock horns against England in a one-off Test match in their upcoming tour to England.
On Thursday, it was BCCI secretary Jay Shah who announced that the Indian eves will be playing their first pink-ball Test against Australia later this year. It will definitely be a new stepping stone for Indian women’s cricket as they have hardly played any Test cricket in the last few years.
Expressing her excitement of playing their first pink-ball Test, Shikha Pandey thanked BCCI and hailed them for adding another Test match to this year’s itinerary.
"I got that sunshine in my pocket, Got that good soul in my feet!!' I know I'm a little late to the party, but massive for @BCCIWomen to have another test match added to this year's itinerary. Kudos to everyone who has made this possible. #TestCricketIsTheBest,” Shikha Pandey wrote on her Twitter handle.
The iconic WACA at Perth will be hosting the day-night Test match against India. Aussie all-rounder Ellyse Perry is excited to host India for the historic Test match adding that it should be an evenly contested match between the two teams. The Pink-ball Test will be the curtain-raiser for the multi-format series against India which will kickstart the 2021-22 international summer.
This will be the first time in 15 years that the Indian women’s team will go head to head against Australia in the longest format. While admitting that the conditions will be favouring the hosts, Perry doesn’t want to take the Indians lightly and expects an even contest.
“Playing a Test match there before it's an absolutely wonderful venue for a women's Test. The pitch provides that little bit of extra pace and bounce, the ball carries though really well, there's a little bit of sideways movement," Perry was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
"That's certainly in (our) favour... our conditions and the Australian style of cricket but having said that, looking at the Indian team, some of the skills of their players, particularly their batters, it's going to be a really well-contested Test match and a great opportunity for both sides," Perry further added.