Australia have done well to come back into the contest in the middle overs and kept India down under 300. India started off well, but Australia pegged things back a little bit in the end and middle overs. Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, India rode on half-centuries from the top 3 and handy contributions from down the order to get to 281/7 in 50 overs.
Australia fought hard with Megan Schutt taking 2 wickets and the rest picking one each as they toiled hard to keep India down under 300. The pitch slowed down and India have a good score on the board, but whether it is enough remains to be seen. We have to wait and watch.
Indian openers lay the platform in the first 25 overs of the game
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana came out to bat for India while Megan Schutt had ball in hand for Australia. Smriti Mandhana drove Schutt through the covers for a boundary. Kim Garth had ball in hand from the other end as Mandhana hit her through wide long-on by coming down the track for a boundary. Rawal joined the party as she hit Schutt through point and backward point. Garth bowled a tidy over.
Rawal took Schutt on and hit her for consecutive boundaries. Garth though kept things tight. Mandhana then hit Schutt over mid-off for a boundary. Rawal then hit Garth through covers for a boundary. Mandhana too hit the same bowler through backward square leg for a boundary. Garth overstepped but the free hit yielded a brace as the 50 came up for India in 8 overs and of the partnership.
Ashleigh Gardner came into the attack next and bowled a tidy over. Ellyse Perry too bowled a miserly over as India were 55/0 in 10 overs at the end of the mandatory powerplay. Mandhana then went straight down the ground for the maximum off Gardner. Perry bowled a miserly over yet again. Rawal broke the shackles as she hit the bad ball through deep fine leg for a boundary. Mandhana then hit Perry past fine leg for a boundary.
Georgia Wareham came onto bowl next and bowled a tidy over. Annabel Sutherland came into the attack next. She too bowled a quiet over. Mandhana then hit Wareham over mid-off for a boundary. Rawal too complimented her as she hit Schutt through fine leg for a boundary as the 100 came up and of the partnership in 17.3 overs and the 5th 100-run stand between the duo. Soon, Mandhana reached her fifty in 55 balls, her 32nd ODI fifty and her 5th against Australia. Sutherland bowled a tidy over as India reached 106/0 in 20 overs.
Gardner too bowled a miserly over as Australia were pulling things back. Rawal soon reached her fifty in 67 balls her sixth in ODIS. Mandhana then launched Sutherland over deep midwicket for the maximum. Against the run of play, Mandhana was dismissed for 58 off 63 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes to her name as Phoebe Litchfield knocked down the stumps at the batter’s end. Harleen Deol came into bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Wareham returned and bowled a tight over.
Kim Garth returned and bowled a maiden over. Wareham bowled the 25th over as Deol launched her over mid-on for the maximum flat hit into the cushions. At the end of 25 overs, India were well-placed at 129/1 and looked good to get a big total.
Regular wickets keeps India down to 281/7 in 50 overs
Kim Garth continued and bowled a tidy over. Alana King came into the attack next. She too bowled a tidy over. Garth bowled another decent over. King bowled a maiden over. Garth too kept things tight as India were 142/1 in 30 overs at the second Drinks break. Alana King struck and got rid of Pratika Rawal for 64 off 96 balls with 6 fours to his name. She bowled a flighted leg break, fuller on the stumps. The batter got down on one knee and swept it against the turn and mistimed the stroke to Perry at deep midwicket. She made no mistake. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur came to the crease next and got off the mark.
Annabel Sutherland returned to the attack as Deol hit her for a boundary through the midwicket region. King continued to keep things tight. Kaur smashed Sutherland over deep square leg for the maximum. Sutherland then dismissed Kaur for 11 off 9 balls with a maximum to her name. She bowled a good length delivery on the middle and off-stump, an off-cutter, nipped in a tad. Harman prod forward and played the wrong line as the ball beat the inside edge and hit the back pad. She reviewed it and saw three reds to burn the review for India. Jemimah Rodrigues came out to bat next.
King bowled another decent over. Gardner returned as Deol took her on and smashed her for consecutive boundaries. Deol then took on King and deposited her over long-off for the maximum. Deol hit another boundary by sweeping through deep square leg. Harleen Deol got to her fifty in 50 balls her fourth ODI fifty. Schutt returned as Jemimah cut her for a boundary as the 200 came up for India in 38.1 overs. Gardner bowled another tight over as India were 207/3 in 40 overs with 10 overs to go.
Schutt got rid of Harleen Deol for 54 off 57 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to her name. She bowled a leg cutter on a good length, a shade outside off-stump, Deol came down the track and looked to slog it across the line but missed it completely. Healy was standing up to the stumps and whipped off the bails after collecting it cleanly. Richa Ghosh came out to bat next and got off the mark. Wareham bowled another tight over. Tahlia McGrath came into the attack next.
She got rid of Richa Ghosh but off a no ball as Ghosh got a life. The free hit went for the maximum where the bowler again bowled a no ball. The free hit again went for a boundary. Rodrigues then got out for 18 off 26 balls with a boundary to her name to McGrath. She bowled a back of a length delivery on the leg, Rodrigues sat back and went for the pull shot and got a top edge to short fine leg where Alana King took the catch. Deepti Sharma came out to the middle next.
Wareham bowled a tidy over. McGrath too kept things tight as India reached 239/5 in 45 overs. Megan Schutt returned to the attack as Ghosh hit her for a boundary through the covers. Schutt eventually had her wicket as she got rid of Ghosh for 25 off 20 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to her name. It was a low full toss from the bowler on the stumps, Ghosh got low and slogged it high in the air in front of square in the leg side. Gardner from deep midwicket ran to her right and kept her eyes on the ball and grabbed it inches inside the ropes. Radha Yadav came out to bat and got off the mark straightaway.
McGrath bowled a tight 47th over. Deepti then hit Garth for a boundary between deep backward square leg and deep midwicket. Radha joined the fun as she hit Garth through cover point for a boundary. Radha then hit McGrath for a boundary between deep midwicket and long-on. Radha hit the first ball off the 50th over for a boundary through deep midwicket. But Garth had the last laugh as Radha fell for 19 off 14 balls with 3 fours to her name. Garth bowled a leg cutter on the fuller side of the stumps as Radha got underneath it and slogged it. She failed to get the required elevation as Perry stationed at long-on takes a simple catch. Nallapureddy Charani came out to bat next and got off the mark.
Deepti Sharma managed to find a boundary back over the bowler’s head as India finished with 281/7 in 50 overs. Deepti’s innings consisted off 2 fours to her name. Charani was unbeaten on 2 off 2 balls as 10 extras were given by the Aussie bowlers.
8 bowlers used by Australia with Meghan Schutt taking 2/45 in 7 overs. Kim Garth finished with 1/56 in 10 overs. Annabel Sutherland finished with 1/31 in 6 overs. Alana King finished with 1/28 in 6 overs. Tahlia McGrath chipped in with 1/33 in 4 overs. Ashleigh Gardner gave away 35 runs in 7 overs. Ellyse Perry’s 3 overs went for 15 runs while Georgia Wareham bowled 7 overs for 36 runs. The target for Australia will now be 282 runs to win the contest.
What Lies Ahead
India have got runs on the board as they finished with 281/7. They could have got to 300+ but Australia came back well with the ball. The pitch is aiding the spinners a bit and India have 4 spinners in their ranks. This match could go either ways from here. Australia have the depth in batting. If there is dew, Australia will win for sure. India will fight and we could be in for a terrific contest.
Let’s see how things unfold from here as this game is nicely set up for a classic contest.
Also Read: IND-W vs AUS-W: Smriti Mandhana & Pratika Rawal Take India Off To Flyer