Australia pull off second highest chase in women’s ODI history to defeat India

Australia pulled off the second-highest run chase in the history of women’s one-day internationals on the way to recording a six-wicket win over India at the Wankhede Stadium.

The rising star Phoebe Litchfield, who struck 78 off 89 balls, and Ellyse Perry (75 off 72) set up Australia’s successful pursuit of India’s imposing 282 for eight in Mumbai on Thursday (Friday AEDT).

A sparkling Tahlia McGrath (68 not out off 55 balls) and Beth Mooney (42 off 47) rubber-stamped Australia’s victory with 21 balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series and exact some revenge for their first Test loss to India last week.

The only higher successful chase in women’s ODIs was Australia’s 289 for six to reel in New Zealand at North Sydney Oval in 2012.

The tourists’ reply had started poorly when their captain, Alyssa Healy, fell for a duck off the third ball of the innings, caught spectacularly by a diving Sneh Rana. Perry came in and immediately went on the attack, taking the lead as the early aggressor in a 148-run second-wicket partnership with Litchfield.

Perry finally departed, lofting Deepti Sharma to Pooja Vastrakar on the long-off fence, before Litchfield missed a sweep and was bowled by Rana. Any hopes of an Indian wicket surge were quelled when McGrath and Mooney put on 88 for the fourth wicket.

Mooney was bowled by Vastrakar with the finish line in sight but McGrath made it three 50s in seven days before, fittingly, sealing victory when she clobbered Rana for her 11th boundary.

Earlier, Jemimah Rodrigues held at bay physical struggles in the hot, humid conditions to record 82 off 77 balls while the lower-order power of Vastrakar lifted India to their highest score against Australia in women’s ODIs.

India had staggered from 57 for three after cheap dismissals for Shefali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur, to 182 for seven , helped by Yastika Bhatia’s breezy 49, before Rodrigues and Vastrakar combined for a superb 68-run eighth-wicket stand.

Australia have never lost a bilateral women’s ODI series to India.