INDW vs AUSW, 1st ODI Review: Aussie Eves hammer the hosts to go 1-0 up

With Nicole Bolton smacking a brilliant hundred, Australia defeated the Indian women quite comprehensive here at Vadodara. They were class-apart with the ball and similar was the case whilst chasing down the total. With this victory, they go 1-0 up in the 3-match ODI series.

Harmanpreet Kaur was made to lead the Indian contingent after an “Unwell” Mithali Raj opted to stay out of the match. This was a huge blow for their batting lineup and it was evident that there would be an impact on their batting lineup. India won the toss and elected to bat first.

Punam Rur and Smriti Mandhana found it difficult to get going initially. Megan Schutt stemmed the flow of runs by bowling tight lines. Both these players were caught cold in the crease and eventually, Ashleigh Gardner reaped the reward. Mandhana tried to play a big shot and was caught at mid-on by Meg Lanning.

Amanda Wellington struck almost immediately to send Jemimah Rodrigues back to the pavilion. Punam Raut didn’t stick for long as well, getting dismissed in the 17th over. The Indians were in deep trouble 60/3 and there was no way going forward. The Australian bowlers were clinical and gave nothing away.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma stuck in the middle for around 5 overs, but both got dismissed in a span of 5 balls. With Megan Schutt dismissing Harmanpreet, India found themselves at 87/5 in 23.2 overs. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals post that and the only major contributors from the hosts were Sushma Verma, who scored a crucial 41 and Pooja Vastrakar, who chipped in with a fifty.

Her 51 off 56 balls towards the end of the innings played a crucial role in helping India post 200 runs on the board. Jess Jonassen picked up 4 wickets for the visitors and Amanda Wellington returned with impressive figures of 3/24.

Nicole Bolton scores a scintillating century

India needed early wickets if ever they had any intentions to win this game. The target was low and the caliber of each batswoman in the other lineup was very high. It was always going to be a challenging task for Harmanpreet and company and eventually, they failed to reciprocate well.

Nicole Bolton and Alyssa Healy ensured the required run rate never crept up. Healy tormented the Indian new ball bowlers, who didn’t back away from gifting freebies. Healy took apart Deepti Sharma in her short little stint. After their duo added 60 runs for the first wicket, Healy departed after scoring 38 off 29 balls.

Bolton then stitched another decent partnership with skipper Meg Lanning. When Lanning gets going, there’s no way any bowler can have his say. As always, she was exceptional in the middle, playing some outstanding cricket shots. Bolton soon completed her fifty in the 20th over with a single down to backward square.

Lanning got into a miscommunication with Bolton and that led to the former running herself out. That probably was the only way to get the big fish. Wickets in the second innings were immaterial as the Australians never looked uncomfortable after losing a wicket or two. Ellyse Perry and Bolton stitched 74 runs for the 3rd wicket and took their side home.

Towards the end of the run chase, Bolton managed to bring up her hundred. Australia won the game by 8 wickets and with over 17 overs to spare. In the run chase, whilst the required rate was a tad above 4, their scoring rate was over 6.

Brief Scores

India Women: 200 all out in 50 overs (Pooja Vastrakar 51; Amanda Wellington 3/24, Jess Jonassen 4/30)

Australia Women: 202/2 in 32.1 overs (Nicole Bolton 100*, Alyssa Healy 38)

Player of the match: Nicole Bolton