Litchfield, Mooney, Sutherland secure handsome chase
Mandhana, Rawal and Deol's fifties helped India post 281 for 7 but it wasn't enough
Mandhana, Rawal and Deol's fifties helped India post 281 for 7 but it wasn't enough
Scorer: K Vairavan | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar
9:02pm That will be all from us for this game. There is still some cricket being played over in the UAE, and it also involves an Indian side. Hop over for all the coverage. Until then, on behalf of Gnasher and Vairavan, this is me, Shashwat, signing off. Goodbye and take care, folks!
Phoebe Litchfield, Player of the Match: Got a bit of luck early on. Really enjoyable to be out there with the skipper, and Pez (Perry) and Moons (Mooney). (On enjoying batting against India and why that is the case) I don't know. The conditions over here are nice for batting. You get some really flat pitches. (On her reverse sweeps and switch hits and if playing hockey helps) I think so. (Hockey) Taught me at a young age the wrist work but lot of practice has gone into that shot. As a group, we came out there with a definite plan to get on top. Our bowlers bowled really well on a pretty nice wicket to hold the stumps and to keep them to 280. To chase it down with balls to spare, is a really cool thing.
Alyssa Healy, Australia captain: Very nice way to start. Credit to the girls. To lose the toss and told to bowl first in the heatâŠreally proud of that effort. (On if the discussion during the first drinks break was to change pace up) Little bit. It was identified early that that was going to be the case. Taking wickets in the powerplay is important, but you can still get yourself back in the game by bowling smart and that is what our team does well. Quite a blessing to be able to call anyone to do a role. (On the chase) We want to push the limits when batting first and no different while chasing. We have the same intent like we are setting a big total. Phoebe was outstanding, and everyone contributed beautifully and kept the scoring rate up. (On Perry and her injury) She is just old, she is fine (laughs).
Harmanpreet Kaur, India captain: (Where it went wrong) We were 20-30 runs short. Our bowlers were trying to create opportunities but we were not able to capitalize on those opportunities. They played really good cricket. They played better than us but next game is important, we want to stay positive and looking forward to the next game. (On the decision at the toss) Both the innings, the pitch played better only. That is why we were able to score 280. A little more positive batting, if we were able to add 20-30 runs, and then the opportunities while bowling - those things could have made a huge difference. We will think and analyze the pitch and how we can go better in the next game. (On combination) We will try whatever we have. It was the best combination for us. If you see our last series, spinners did very well. Their batters batted really well and we should give credit to them. As a fielding unit, we were not able to capitalize on the opportunities (created by the bowlers).
Hypocaust: "Worth underlining, Australia women hadn't played an ODI in eight months, and they've just made the 4th highest chase in the format look like a walk in the park."
8:41pm Clinical is the word to describe this run-chase. At the half-way stage, it felt Australia would need to be at their best. And for almost all of the run-chase, they were. Healy got the ball rolling with a flurry of boundaries. She perished to Goud inside the powerplay but the baton was then taken up by Litchfield, who sparkled on her way to 88. Perry had to retire hurt owing to cramp, although in Mooney and Sutherland, Australia had two batters capable of stepping in and ensuring there were zero hiccups, with their unbeaten 116-run partnership sealing the deal.
Not a lot to shout about from an Indian POV. Their bowling plans lacked invention, and their execution was just as off. Their fielding, however, was what let them down the most and had they held on to their chances, they may have put Australia under a lot more pressure. The good thing is that they have two more games to shed off this ring-rust and crease out these rough edges, although when they next take the field, the series will be on the line.
Annabel Sutherland: Nice to get the win. (On the bowling turnaround after the first drinks break) We felt like it was a pretty good wicket. We just tried to squeeze as much as we could. Dots and ones, and that little bit of pressure. And then when we got momentum, we ran with it and that was pleasing. (On their batting plans) We knew it was going to be heavy spin. Assessing conditionsâŠit was coming on nicely, did not really need to overplay it. Everyone looked settled, which was really nice.
Mandhana, Rawal and Deol's fifties helped India post 281 for 7 but it wasn't enough
Alyssa Healy offered her endorsement as well, saying this was the "most stable" Indian team she has seen
Renuka Singh, Alyssa Healy set to return to action in what will be the first international at the New Chandigarh stadium