Australia faces a testing chase of 215 in the opening women’s ODI after India, riding high from a T20I series win, batted first but folded for 214 in 48.3 overs at Allan Border Field. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s decision to bat paid partial dividends through resilient knocks, yet frequent wickets prevented a bigger total.
Openers faltered instantly: Pratikar Raval gone for 0. Smriti Mandhana’s composure shone, pairing 25 with Shefali Verma (4/17 balls) and 27 with Jemimah Rodrigues (8). Teaming with Kaur, she added 48 to gift India their century before holing out for 58 (68b, 7×4).
Kaur’s captain’s knock of 53 (84b, 3×4) steadied nerves, linking 37 with Richa Ghosh (23/38, 2×4) and a vital 53-run burst with Kashvee Gautam (43/44). This lower-order grit salvaged respectability.
Ashleigh Gardner dominated with 3-33 for Australia; Megan Schutt snared 2. Contributions from Brown, King, McGrath, Molineux sealed the innings. India fielded Mandhana, Raval, Verma, Kaur ©, Rodrigues, Ghosh †, Deepti, Gautam, Charani, Gaur, Renuka Singh. Healy’s Australia: Healy ©, Litchfield, Voll, Mooney †, Sutherland, Gardner, McGrath, Molineux, King, Schutt, Brown.
Momentum swings both ways in this rivalry. India’s pace battery, led by Renuka and Deepti, targets early Australian breakthroughs to protect their modest total in a series that could define their tour.