ICC Women’s ODI World Cup favourites Australia nonchalantly brushed the Indian women away as the group stage of the marquee tournament enters its business end.
Australia chased down the 278-run target that the Indians set them, with absolutely no jitters along the way, almost as if the daunting target was nothing. Openers Rachael Haynes and Alyssa Healy created a solid platform before captain Meg Lanning played a fabulous knock of 97 to take the Aussies home comfortably by a six-wicket margin.
Earlier in the day, the Indian women produced an excellent batting performance, courtesy of the middle-order trio of Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur, who all contributed valuable half centuries, before Pooja Vastrakar’s entertaining cameo pushed the Indian total to 277/7 at the end of their quota of 50 overs.
Lanning won the toss and decided to put the Indian women into bat. The decision appeared to work perfectly, as Darcie Brown got rid of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma very early on, as she sent both openers packing for scores of 10 and 16, respectively.
With Australia firmly on the front foot, it was up to the vastly experienced Indian skipper Raj to stabilise the innings, and she did exactly that, as she and Bhatia stitched together an excellent partnership, as India took full control of the middle overs. The duo added 130 runs for the third wicket before Bhatia lost her wicket after scoring a well-constructed 59, which included six hits to the fence.
Raj also fell shortly after, ending her stay at the crease after making an excellent 68. Her dismissal was followed by a couple more cheap wickets falling for India, but the damage was mitigated by the reassuring presence of Kaur.
Harmanpreet was eventually joined by Pooja Vastrakar, who played a good cameo to ensure that India set the Aussies a formidable target. The two batted until the last ball and added 64 runs in 47 balls, taking India to 277/7 at the end of the innings.
The 278-run target might have seemed daunting to most teams, but the Aussies did not look as if they were at all bothered by it. Haynes and Healy started off business as usual, with the latter being the aggressor. Healy dominated the Indian bowlers, getting boundaries all over the pitch. The 100-run partnership between Healy and Haynes came in no time, and it was looking like the game wasn’t even a contest at that point.
However, a couple of quick wickets brought India back into the game, as both the openers were done away within the space of ten balls. India could have made a comeback into the game, but for the experienced duo of Lanning and Ellyse Perry, who played through the uncertain times with enviable expertise, as they brought the Australian innings back on track.
It was largely Lanning who was responsible for the runs, but Perry’s contribution was equally vital, as the pair added 103 for the third wicket. Perry was dismissed for 28, but the game seemed farfetched from an Indian perspective.
Beth Mooney, who came in at No.6, was in a hurry to get things done with and assisted Lanning by producing a flurry of boundaries. The skipper missed out on a well-deserved hundred, getting dismissed for 97 before Mooney finished off the chase with a boundary to seal things and keep her side on top of the points table. Lanning’s brilliance earned her the Player of the Match award as her side marched towards the knockout stages of the competition.
Brief scores
India Women – 277/7 in 50 overs (Raj 68; Bhatia 59; Brown 3/30) lost to Australia Women – 280/4 in 49.3 overs (Lanning 97; Healy 72; Vastrakar 2/43)
