Australia Women outclassed India Women by five wickets in the second ODI of the three-match series in Hobart. India posted 251/9 in 50 overs on a good batting surface. However, Australia chased the target comfortably. Litchfield and Voll added 119 runs for the second wicket at a rapid pace. Australia reached the target in the 37th over.
Georgia Voll smashed a brilliant century and Phoebe Litchfield scored a fluent 80 as Australia defeated India comfortably at Bellerive Oval. With this win, Australia secured the ODI leg 2-0 against the reigning World Cup champions.
Australia Overcome Injury Blow
Before the match, Australia suffered a setback. Sophie Molineux was ruled out of the rest of the series due to a back injury. Despite this, Australia responded strongly.
Their bowlers showed far better control than India’s attack. Annabel Sutherland took 2 for 37 but bowled only seven overs. Spinners Alana King and Ashleigh Gardner picked up two wickets each. Nicola Carey, playing her first ODI since the 2022 World Cup, took 1 for 55 in eight overs after replacing Molineux.
The final ODI will also be played at the same venue. A win there would ensure Australia cannot lose the series outright.
India Fail to Build on T20 Success
India entered the ODI leg after a 2-1 series win in the T20Is. However, their return to 50-over cricket has been disappointing. This is especially notable after their historic World Cup triumph at home last year, which included a semi-final win over Australia.
India won the toss for the fifth straight time. However, they failed to make full use of Australia’s sloppy fielding. Reckless batting hurt their chances of posting a big total.
Strong Start, Sudden Collapse
Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana gave India a solid start. They added 78 runs for the first wicket. Mandhana survived two dropped chances during her innings.
However, India lost momentum quickly. They collapsed, losing 5 wickets for 52 runs between the 17th and 31st overs.
Mandhana fell to her familiar opponent Gardner, who bowled her after she shuffled across her stumps. Rawal scored a classy 52 off 81 balls. But she suffered a terrible run-out after a mix-up with Harmanpreet Kaur.
Jemimah Rodrigues, promoted back to No. 3, scored only 11 before falling to Sutherland. Shafali Verma was rested for this match.
Harmanpreet Fights Back
Harmanpreet Kaur, returning after a knee injury in the first ODI, scored 54 off 70 balls. She helped India recover from 130 for 5. Lower-order batters chipped in with small contributions to push the total to 251.
Still, it proved insufficient against Australia’s powerful batting line-up.
Early Breakthrough but Australia Respond
Alyssa Healy, playing the second-last ODI of her career, fell early for 6. Kashvee Gautam bowled a superb yorker to dismiss her and celebrated her first international wicket.
Georgia Voll, who replaced the injured Ellyse Perry, was under pressure after a golden duck in the previous match. However, she responded with confidence. She even played a stylish lap scoop to boost her momentum.
Phoebe Litchfield started aggressively. She attacked from the first ball and dominated the powerplay. She scored 41 of Australia’s 60 runs in that phase. She struck three straight boundaries off Kranti Gaud.
Litchfield also used reverse sweeps and advanced down the pitch to attack spinner Vaishnavi Sharma, who made her ODI debut in tough conditions.
Brief Scorecard
