A collapse by the 33rd over summed up India's disastrous day on the Wankhede pitch on January 2, 2024, as the Women in Blue began their new year with a loss against the mighty Australia. Consequently, Australia, who had won the series by winning the second One Day International just days earlier, completed a metaphorical white-wash, absolutely dominating the hosts in a 3-0 triumph. India had previously beaten Australia in a one-off Test preceding the ODI series. (Cricket News)
Australia won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision that proved wise in every sense of the word as they raced to a mammoth 338 score, with Phoebe Litchfield scoring a century. Litchfield and opening partner Alyssa Healy racked up an opening stand of 189 runs, which was only broken when the latter was bowled out by Pooja Vastrakar on 82 runs from 85 balls. Healy's departure sparked a brief Australian collapse, with Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, and finally Litchfield departing for 67 runs.
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Yet, when it seemed as if the tide had turned, the Australian middle order steadied the ship. Ashleigh Gardner added vital 30 runs to the board with her successors entering double figures, too, to stack up 338 on the board.
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India's day with the bat started poorly, with Yashika Bhatia surrendering her wicket for six runs. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana held the Indian innings together after the early setback, but that, too, didn't last; before long, the Women in Blue had lost five wickets before 100 runs, including Mandhana, whose 29 off 29 balls was to be the team's highest individual score.
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As the dominoes fell, one after the other, Deepti Sharma battled onward, trying to cut the deficit as much as possible. Sharma was the sole survivor of India's batting, playing at 25 when Georgia Wareham trapped Mannat Kashyap at the other end.
Final Scores
Australia: 338/7 (50 Overs); Phoebe Litchfield - 119(125), Alyssa Healy - 82(85)
India: 148 (32.4 Overs); Smriti Mandhana - 29(29), Jemimah Rodrigues - 25(27)
Australia won by 190 runs, claiming the series 3-0.
Playing XIs
India Playing XI: 1 Yastika Bhatia, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Richa Ghosh (wk), 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Jemimah Rodrigues, 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Amanjot Kaur, 8 Mannat Kashyap, 9 Pooja Vastrakar, 10 Renuka Singh, 11 Shreyanka Patil
Australia Playing XI: 1 Alyssa Healy (wk, capt), 2 Phoebe Litchfield, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Beth Mooney, 5 Tahlia McGrath, 6 Ashleigh Gardner, 7 Annabel Sutherland, 8 Georgia Wareham, 9 Alana King, 10 Kim Garth, 11 Megan Schutt
