Australia 133 for 4 (Perry 34*, Healy 26, Deepti 2-22) beat India 130 for 8 (Deepti 30, Wareham2-17, Sutherland 2-18, Garth 2-27) by six wickets
Wareham, Sutherland keep India at bay
Australia did their homework well and kept a sweeper cover for Smriti Mandhana in the powerplay to contain and it worked. Garth picked up her second when Jemimah Rodrigues nicked an outswinger to the keeper in the fourth over. Mandhana, who looked good for her 23, was unable to convert her start, falling to Sutherland’s short ball while trying to go big. India were down to 42 for 3 in the eighth over.
Just when the partnership seemed to be building, Wareham dismissed Ghosh, courtesy of a late review from Alyssa Healy. It was a full-length delivery, pitching just in line to trap the batter lbw, though it initially looked like it might have pitched slightly outside leg. In her next over, the legspinner struck Pooja Vastrakar in front, with Healy once again getting the review right.
India collected just 32 runs off the last four overs with Sutherland’s change of pace keeping the scoring down. She dismissed Amanjot Kaur in the 18th over and ended with figures of 2 for 18 from four overs. Wareham, who was also equally economical, conceded 17 from her four. That India had a total of 57 dot balls is something that they would want to look at in this format, moving forward.
Perry shines after brisk opening stand
Australia started rapidly in the chase, helped in part by the dew that had come in. Healy used the fielding restrictions in the powerplay to her advantage, coming down the track and lofting the ball over the fielders in the ring to find boundaries. Beth Mooney, who was not as fluent as her captain, still ran hard between the wickets to take the quick singles. At the end of six overs, they were 47 for 0.
India tried Renuka Thakur, Titas Sadhu and Shreyanka Patil in the powerplay, but they couldn’t restrict run flow nor get a breathrough. Sadhu, who picked up a four-wicket haul in the opening game, was smashed for 12 runs in her first over and taken off the attack. She was much better in her second spell, conceding nine runs in two overs.
Deepti varied her lengths and pace to keep India in the game, conceding just nine runs from her first three overs. Patil then dismissed Tahlia McGrath in the 14th over after she smashed three fours in her 21-ball stay with Australia’s equation eventually coming down to 42 from 36.
Srinidhi Ramanujam is a sub-editor with CricketCrest
