Mumbai, December 30
Richa Ghosh’s career-best 96 and Deepti Sharma’s 5/38 went in vain as Australia clinched a thrilling three-run win to take an unassailable 2-0 lead against India in their three-match ODI series here today.
Chasing 259 to win, Ghosh led India’s reply with a fine 117-ball 96 featuring 13 fours, but the hosts stuttered in the death overs to suffer their ninth consecutive defeat to Australia at home.
11 A total of 11 catches were dropped in the match, with India putting down seven and Australia spilling four
Stopping them under 300 was a positive. We knew we could’ve chased it but didn’t show enough awareness in the middle overs. Dropped catches are a part of the game. I know they took the game away. I’m proud of the team, the way we played. We needed a bit more awareness late in the chase. Harmanpreet Kaur, India captain
Credit to our girls to find ways to win in a tough situation. We lost many wickets late but took wickets and defended it. We just hang in there, something about Australian teams. We fight till the last ball. We still believed we can win till the last ball and that’s what made us successful. Alyssa Healy, Australia captain
India managed 255/8 in their 50 overs with Deepti (24 not out off 36 balls) and Shreyanka Patil (5 not out) at the crease when the match came to an end.
Apart from Ghosh’s heroics with the bat, India also had their vice-captain Smriti Mandhana providing early fireworks with a 38-ball 34.
Jemimah Rodrigues (44 off 55 balls) and Ghosh laid the foundation with an 88-run third-wicket stand but could not blemish Australia’s unbeaten series record in India.
In a contest where both teams dropped more than 10 catches combined, Phoebe Litchfield eventually made the difference with two sharp catches after dropping one early on, which followed a fine knock of 63 in the first innings to top-score for her side.
Positioned at cover, Litchfield helped break the third-wicket stand to dismiss Rodrigues off Georgia Wareham (2/39) at a crucial juncture in the 34th over.
Later, when Ghosh was one stroke away from her maiden ton, Litchfield pulled off another superb grab at cover off Annabel Sutherland (3/47) to deny her the feat and in effect, India a win.
Having kept wickets for all 50 overs of Australia’s first innings, the 20-year-old Ghosh batted with gusto and tremendous application, with her stupendous knock featuring strokes all over the ground.
Ghosh also capitalised on two lifelines — one of which she got on the first delivery itself, when Litchfield put down a tough chance at first slip soon after Yastika Bhatia (19) was dismissed.
Ghosh kept India in hunt with her partnership with Rodrigues, but Australia capitalised after finding a breakthrough. India’s hopes suffered a dent when Ghosh, who was cramping up in the later stages of her innings, fell in the 44th over and Amanjot Kaur (4) in the 46th.
With Deepti failing to get a move-on – she had contributed only eight runs in her 47-run stand with Ghosh – the task became more challenging for the likes of Pooja Vastrakar (8) and concussion substitute Harleen Deol (1), who had replaced Sneh Rana for the remainder of the game in the second half.
Earlier, Deepti stymied Australia’s surge with a stellar five-wicket haul but seven dropped catches by India allowed them to post a challenging total. Deepti exploited a dry and turning surface to return with five wickets, but her hard work was undone by the hosts’ horrendous fielding.
Brief scores: Australia: 258/8 (Litchfield 63, Perry 50; Deepti 5/38); India: 255/8 (Ghosh 96, Rodrigues 44; Sutherland 3/47).