Reality check

It was not the start the Indian women’s team would have hoped for as the home side went down by eight wickets against the seven-time world champions Australia in the first-ever ODI played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium here.

Australia chased down the 282-run target with 35 balls to spare, giving the hosts of the upcoming ICC World Cup a solid reality check. India were guilty of dropping catches as Phoebe Litchfield (88), Ellyse Perry (30) and Beth Mooney (77 not out) got reprieves. With this result, Australia maintained their clean sheet in the last eight outings against India.

The Aussies opened with skipper Alyssa Healy and Litchfield, who got her first lifeline in the second over when she was dropped by Jemimah Rodrigues at short mid-wicket. The pair went on to score 45 before Healy (27) was accounted for by Kranti Goud. Litchfield and Perry raised a 79-run partnership. Perry was dropped in the 17th over by Pratika Rawal, but she retired hurt due to a calf strain.

Mooney took charge and carried the same momentum. Litchfield was again dropped, this time by the Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. The pair took advantage and went on to punish the Indian bowlers. However, in the 27th over, Litchfield, who was looking good for her first century of the season, was finally caught by substitute Sneh Rana. Mooney was dropped by Deepti Sharma at extra cover. While the Indians did try their best to build pressure on the Australians, the dropped catches and the occasional misfields did not help. Mooney and Annabel Sutherland (54) stayed till the end to raise a 116-run partnership for the third wicket.

Earlier, Rawal (64) and Smriti Mandhana (58) raised a 114-run partnership for the opening wicket. The hosts were looking good to get to 300 but a mix-up cost the vice-captain her wicket and stalled India’s momentum. Mandhana took off for a single after hitting the ball towards extra cover but Rawal was late to deny the call. Litchfield caught Mandhana short of the crease with a direct throw. The duo had helped India cross the 100-run mark in the 18th over. Next-in Harleen Deol made an impact with a solid 54 off 57 balls. However, the run-rate dropped massively as the side crawled to 168/3. Rawal got her sixth ODI half-century but ended up getting caught by Perry at midwicket off Alana King. Harmanpreet was trapped in front by Sutherland. Deol batted with a lot of intent hitting four boundaries and two sixes. However, even she couldn’t make it big and was stumped off Megan Schutt.

The side, thereafter, struggled to accelerate and find regular boundaries in the middle overs. Richa Ghosh (25), who got a lifeline after she got caught off a no-ball, hit back-to-back boundaries, while Sharma (20 off 14 balls) played a small cameo to take the team’s total to 281/7.

Brief scores: India: 281/7 in 50 overs (Rawal 64, Mandhana 58, Deol 54; Schutt 2/45); Australia: 282/2 in 44.1 overs (Litchfield 88, Mooney 77*, Sutherland 54*)