India Women vs Australia Women: 2nd ODI, Review- Visitors maul India to series-victory

Australia comprehensively humbled India by 60 runs and clinched the series

Published - 15 Mar 2018, 17:00 IST | Updated - 15 Mar 2018, 17:00 IST

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India Women and Australia Women are currently locking horns in a three-match One Day International series in Vadodara. The opening game of the series turned out to be a one-sided affair as Nicole Bolton’s century ripped the hosts apart and helped Australia clinch victory by eight wickets. Going into the second game, while India looked to stay alive, Australia wished to close the series out.

Mithali Raj didn’t play the opening game and 17-year old Jemimah Rodrigues replaced. Harmanpreet Kaur shouldered the mantle of leadership in Raj’s place. However, the Rajasthan-born batsman was back for the second game and took over the captaincy from Kaur. Raj and India Women won the toss and elected to have a crack at Meg Lanning’s women.

Bolton, Mooney, and Perry help Australia score big

Australia didn’t blaze, however, were steady in their approach. Bolton and Alyssa Healy stitched a useful half-century stand which was eventually halted when Poonam Yadav’s leg-breaks accounted for Healy’s wicket. However, skipper Lanning and Bolton carved a handy 76-run partnership which looked ominous for the Indians. Nevertheless, India Women stormed back with three quick wickets.

Bolton, who scored a stupendous 84 runs with 12 boundaries, was eventually dismissed by left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht. After the flurry of wickets, Elysse Perry and Beth Mooney held the fort for the Aussies and built a 96 run stand to give Australia a platform from where they could launch. Mooney was aggressive in her stroke-play and racked up 56 runs off 40 balls.

Perry was also clinical in her approach and eventually scored 70 runs. Meanwhile, the New South Wales cricketer also racked up her 25th half-century in One Day Internationals. From India’s perspective, fast bowler Shikha Pandey was the standout bowler with three wickets. Poonam Yadav also bowled well and dished out the important wickets of Bolton and Ashleigh Gardner.

A promising chase that fell apart

The chase wasn’t an insurmountable one for the Indians bearing in mind, India’s batting firepower. Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Raut took their team off to a flier with a stand of 88 runs off 107 balls. The left-handed Mandhana was severe on the bowlers and took them to the cleaners. However, she was dismissed by Jess Jonassen for 67 runs, which triggered a collapse from which India never recovered.

Deepti Sharma promised for her brief knock of 26 runs, however, was dismissed by Jonassen’s left-arm off breaks. Mithali Raj began with three boundaries, but fell prey to Elysse Perry. Shikha Pandey and Pooja Vastrakar tried to bring India back in contention with some blistering strokes. However, the required run-rate mounted significantly and India was eventually bowled out for 227 runs.

Every Australian bowler churned out impeccable channels, which strangled the Indian batswomen. Jonassen was the pick of the Aussie bowlers with three vital wickets. Perry and Amanda-Jade Wellington notched a couple of wickets each. Nicola Carey also got her maiden wicket in ODIs when she dismissed Shikha Pandey. The third game and the dead rubber of the series will be played on March 18.