Australia’s women’s cricket team started strong in the ODI series, beating India by six wickets in the opener. India chose to bat first after winning the toss and put up 214 runs. Australia chased it down pretty comfortably, finishing the job in just 38.2 overs and dropping only four wickets along the way. Beth Mooney led the charge with a quick 76 off 79 balls, steering the team home.
India’s top order tried to hold things together. Both captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana hit fifties, but the rest of the lineup couldn’t really capitalize. Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner made life tough for the batters, picking up three wickets for just 33 runs in her seven overs.
The Aussies had to reshuffle their lineup at the last moment. Fast bowlers Megan Schutt and Lucy Hamilton came in after Kim Garth and Ellyse Perry were sidelined with injuries.
Megan made an instant impact, knocking over Pratika Rawal with a sharp inswinger on just her second ball. Rawal was making a comeback after an ankle injury she picked up during the World Cup win at home last year. Shefali Verma, batting at number three for the first time, didn’t last long and she fell for four, giving a simple catch to Darcie Brown. Mandhana looked in good touch, smashing a string of boundaries over the slips and timing her drives beautifully on her way to 58.
Australia’s spinners really tightened things up in the middle overs. Gardner got Jemimah Rodrigues to edge one behind, and after Mandhana and Deepti Sharma fell, Harmanpreet tried to steady the innings. She fought her way to 53 but got caught in the deep trying to sweep Gardner. Richa Ghosh chipped in with 23. Kashvi Gautam gave India a late boost, smashing 43 off 44 balls, including three sixes. One of them, a big hit over long-on off Megan, pushed India past 200, but it wasn’t enough in the end.
Brief Scores:
India Women- 214 (Mandhana 58, Harmanpreet 53, Gardner 3-33, Schutt 2-42)
Australia Women- 217-4 (Mooney 76, Healy 50, Charani 2-41, Gaud 1-32)
Australia Women win by 6 wickets
