Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
Monday, 13 October 2025 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Australian Captain Alyssa Healy hit a magnificent 142 off 107 balls (21 fours, 3 sixes) to spearhead her team to a record run chase in Women’s ODIs against India, in an ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match played at Visakhapatnam yesterday.
India racked up an imposing 330, but Healy set up Australia’s run chase with contributions from Phoebe Litchfield (40 off 39 balls, 6 fours, 1 six), Ellyse Perry (47* off 52 balls, 5 fours, 1 six), and Ashleigh Gardner (45 off 46 balls, 3 fours, 1 six). Perry retired hurt but came back to help her side, who wobbled a bit in the chase. Openers Healy and Litchfield put on 85 quickly off 68 balls, and then there was another stand between Healy and Gardner of 95 off 70 balls.
India fought back after Perry’s retirement with wickets, but Healy kept calm. She brought up a fine 100 and then upped the rate after that with attacking batting. Her dismissal sparked a turnaround, with Amanjot Kaur snapping up Gardner and Sophie Molineux off successive balls, but the calmness of Perry and Kim Garth saw Australia through.
India fielded brilliantly but just did not have the bowling to stop this strong Australian line-up. Eventually, India were left to pay the price for a collapse of 6 for 36, with questions continuing about the balance of their side.
The 331 chased by Australia is the highest in Women’s ODI and the 13 sixes hit was a record for the most sixes hit in a Women’s World Cup match.
India put up a massive total, their second highest against Australia. They were cruising towards 350 or more before losing their way at the end. They lost six wickets for just 36 runs to be dismissed for 330 with seven balls of the innings remaining. Smriti Mandhana finally arrived at the World Cup with a fluent 66-ball 80 (9 fours, 3 sixes), an innings that saw her become the first batter to get 1,000 calendar runs in WODIs this year, while Pratika Rawal (75 off 96 balls, 10 fours, 1 six) played the perfect supporting role. The pair added 155 for the opening wicket off 147 balls and gave India the ideal platform. There were starts for Harleen Deol (38 off 42 balls), Harmanpreet Kaur (22 off 17), Jemimah Rodrigues (33 off 21), and Richa Ghosh (32 off 22), but none could carry on and push India to that 350-mark. Right-arm seamer Annabel Sutherland was outstanding with the ball, cleverly varying her pace to claim a five-wicket haul on a batter-friendly surface.
It was not going to be easy for India to defend this total with dew and against a deep Australian line-up, who were capable of making the total seem like it was 20-30 runs short.
Scores:
India Women 330 (48.5) (Pratika Rawal 75, Smriti Mandhana 80, Harleen Deol 38, Harmanpreet Kaur 22, Jemimah Rodrigues 33, Richa Ghosh 32, Sophie Molineaux 3/75, Annabel Sutherland 5/40)
Australia Women 331-7 (49) (Alyssa Healy 142, Phoebe Litchfield 40, Ellyse Perry 47, Ashleigh Gardner 45, Amanjot Kaur 2/68, Shree Charani 3/41, Deepthi Sharma 2/52)
