IND-W vs AUS-W, 2nd ODI | India's Epic Choke After Deepti's Fifer Seals ODI Series For AUS

Australian players celebrating an Indian wicket in Mumbai (x.com)

Brief Scores: Australia Women: 258-8 (50 overs) [Phoebe Litchfield: 63 (98), Ellyse Perry: 50 (47); Deepti Sharma 5/38 (10), Shreyanka Patil 1/43 (10)] defeated India Women: 255-8 (50 overs) [Richa Ghosh: 96 (117), Jemimah Rodrigues: 44 (55); Annabel Sutherland 3/47 (9), Georgia Wareham 2/39 (7)] by 3 runs.  

Australia pulled off a thriller at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium against India Women in the second ODI to seal their three-match series with a game to spare.

Australia escape to 258 despite Deepti’s five-fer

Australian skipper Alyssa Healy failed to justify her call of batting first as she had her leg stump flattened by Indian new-ball speedster Pooja Vastrakar for just 13. Her opening partner Phoebe Litchfield, on the other hand, stood firm at the crease to punch out a cautious 98-ball 63.

Litchfield shared a 77-run second-wicket partnership with number three Ellyse Perry, where the latter of the two cricketers solely amounted with 50 from her end in just 47 balls. Perry’s dismissal at the hands of Deepti Sharma signalled a brief middle-overs collapse for Australia, as they slumped from 117-1 to 180-6 in the space of an hour. Deepti herself tore through Australia’s famed middle-order to finish her 10-over workload with figures of 5-38.

Shreyanka Patil and Sneh Rana also chipped in with a wicket each during the middle overs before handy 20s from Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham and Alana King extended Australia’s total to a competitive 258-8 from their 50 overs.

Ghosh’s 96 undone by tight Australian bowling

Indian openers Yastika Bhatia and Smriti Mandhana raced to a 37-run start until the former was entrapped by Kim Garth for 14. Mandhana also followed suite after mistiming Alana King’s length ball towards Tahlia McGrath at long-on.

Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh led India’s recovery with a belligerent 88-run partnership with number four Jemimah Rodrigues (44). Ghosh herself top-scored in the innings with a counterattacking 96 from 117 balls, and kept the run-chase alive until her untimely dismissal at the hands of Annabel Sutherland triggered a lower-order Indian collapse.

Sutherland and ace spinner Ashleigh Gardner collectively sent down some tight overs in the death to keep India within three runs of their target.

After Australia’s series-clinching win in Mumbai, the two sides will now collide in the dead-rubber third ODI match at the same venue on January 2.

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