Vice-captain says lines and lengths were just off the mark, allowing the hosts' standout opening pair to make a flying start
Aussie quicks 'slow to react' to Indian onslaught: McGrath
Tahlia McGrath has conceded Australia missed the mark and were "slow to react" with the ball late on day one of the one-off Test in Mumbai, allowing India's openers to quickly erase a significant portion of the tourists' lead.
India will resume on 1-98 on Friday, just 121 runs in arrears after the Australians were bowled out for 219 having won the toss and batted first at Wankhede Stadium.
After India spearhead Pooja Vastrakar had the Aussie top-order rattled and bowled Ellyse Perry for four – the lowest score of her Test career – on Thursday morning, the visitors' quicks were punished by openers Smriti Mandhana (43no) and Shafali Verma (40), who put on 90 runs in 16 overs before the latter fell shortly before stumps.
"We missed the mark with the ball today ... we slightly overpitched and got punished," McGrath told reporters at the close of play.
"Slightly full, slightly too much width and with the class of players like Smriti and Shafali we got put away.
"You could see we were able to bowl a few maidens when we get our lines and lengths right, it's a difficult wicket to score on, so we just need to be a little bit more disciplined with our plans and create some pressure like India were able to do to us.
"We've reflected on it (and) we were a little bit slow to adapt today. But in saying that, in our trial game that was our biggest strength – our length – so it's there and it's just about executing, which didn't happen today."
Debutant Lauren Cheatle's four overs went for 12 runs and included two maidens, but Kim Garth (34 off four overs) and Ellyse Perry (31 off four) were punished for any errors.
A late switch to spin stemmed the flow of runs, and McGrath said she expected Australia's trio of spinners – Ashleigh Gardner, Jess Jonassen and Alana King – to play a significant role going forward.
But she said Australia's five-strong pace pack, a group that also includes herself and Annabel Sutherland, also needed to look at what worked so well for Vastrakar, who added another four-wicket haul to the one she collected against England last week.
The 24-year-old's use of the 'wobble seam' delivery kept the Australian batters in two minds and meant she remained a threat not only with the new ball, but also when she returned in brief bursts throughout the innings – including her return to remove Mooney (40), who was just starting to find her way into her innings, with the final ball before lunch.
"Vastrakar bowled extremely well, the ball she got 'Pez' (Perry) with was an absolute peach," McGrath said. "When I was walking out to bat, she was getting sideways movement off the seam both ways and she just bowls a relentless length that keeps you on your toes and is perfect for Test match cricket.
"We weren't getting quite as much swing as we would have liked up front and she was extremely clever with how she approached it.
"The subtle changes – the little things we've talked about as a bowling group where we might have missed a slight trick there and were a little bit slow to react.
"We're certainly looking at what worked for her and what works for our individual bowlers, as well.
"So, I expect spin to play a pretty big role tomorrow, but Vastrakar took four-for and every time she came into the attack she looked like a real threat, so there's still a time and a place for pace in the game, it's just executing plans."
Australia's CommBank Tour of India
December 21-24: Test match, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
December 28: First ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
December 30: Second ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
January 2: Third ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
January 5: First T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
January 7: Second T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
January 9: Third T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar