Historic ODI triumph

It was a stunning comeback, an unexpected one indeed, as the Indian eves upgraded their last match’s ‘average’ performance to ‘awesome’, handing Australia their biggest-ever defeat in the history of women’s ODIs — and the first on Indian soil in 18 years. Smriti Mandhana fully justified her top ICC ODI ranking as, riding high on her century, the Indian side scripted history with a 102-run win over the world champions under the floodlights at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International PCA Stadium.

This was India’s first ODI win against Australia on home soil since February 2007, when they secured a three-wicket victory in Chennai. Smriti’s majestic 117 — her second-fastest ton and the first by any batter in an international outing at this venue — helped the hosts level the three-match ODI series and shift the focus to the final tie in New Delhi on September 20.

It was Smriti’s innings that propelled the hosts to 292, their highest-ever total against Australia. Criticised earlier for dropping four catches in the series opener and for bowlers’ lacklustre approach, India’s fielders redeemed themselves with seven catches, one run-out, while the bowlers held their nerve with disciplined spells to restrict the Aussies to 190.

Team vice-captain Smriti displayed her full range with a 91-ball 117, laced with 14 boundaries and four sixes. She completed her ton off 77 balls. Alongside Pratika Rawal (25), she gave India a solid start. The pair raised 70 in 11.3 overs before Pratika mistimed a full-length delivery, spooning one to Georgia Wareham at cover off Ashleigh Gardner. Skipper Hamanpreet Kaur (17) and Harleen Deol (10) were expected to handle the situation, but failed. Mandhana, on the other hand, was spreading her magic all over the ground. She brought up her majestic century in style, stepping out to hit a length ball from Tahlia McGrath over mid-off for a boundary. Her innings came to an end in the 33rd over, as she mistimed a Tahila while trying to hit the bowler over the boundary, only to be holed out to Gardner at the midwicket fence. Thereafter, Deepti Sharma (40 off 53) and Richa Ghosh (29 off 33) tried their best to keep up the pace. The promising batters were expected to go beyond 300, but a little to no contribution by the lower order folded the side at 292. It was only Sneh Rana, who contributed 24 off 18 balls to put some extra effort on the team’s total.

The Indian bowlers rampaged the Aussie’s batting line-up. And, it was not the same attack, which poorly defended the first match’s 281-run target. The inclusion of Renuka Singh (1/28) and Arundhati Reddy (1/46) provided stability to the side. The duo provided stability to the attack, giving Kranti Goud (3/28) and Deepti Sharma (2/24) a chance to spread their wings and share five wickets. The visitors were never in the winning vision, despite Annabel Sutherland (45) and Ellyse Perry (44) giving their best. Skipper Alyssa Healy (9) and Georgia Voll (0) were the first lot to get back to the pavilion. The Aussie middle-order tried to recover from early losses, but Indian bowlers who learnt a lot from the last outing here, were in no mood to give any space to the batters and stopped them from entering their comfort zone.