MUMBAI: Even before she could settle in the dugout,
Ellyse Perry
was summoned in the middle on the fourth ball of Australia’s chase. With skipper Alyssa Healy back in the pavilion, and youngster
Phoebe Litchfield
at the other end, the onus was on her to set them up to chase a total of 282 — the highest ever put on by India women in ODIs against them.
With the target still far away, the ideal approach would have been to block, get your eye in before putting back the pressure on the home side. But it’s Perry we are talking about.
After facing just three balls, the 33-year-old allrounder hit
Pooja Vastrakar
for a four and a six in the second over to put India on the backfoot. Perry’s counter-attack, on a wicket that had freshened up under the lights, gave 20-year-old Litchfield the confidence and she too opened her shoulders after initially playing watchfully.
By the time Perry holed out at long-on, she had stitched a 150-ball 148-run partnership with Litchfield which effectively set-up Australia’s six-wicket win in the first of the three-match ODI series at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Perry, who battled cramps towards the latter half of her innings, scored 75 from 72 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes to continue her rich vein of form this year. It was her fourth half-century of the year in which she has scored 417 runs in 11 games at an average of 69.50. She had a decent outing in the Women’s Big Bash as well where she hammered 496 runs in 13 matches with the help of three fifties.
Litchfield was the top-scorer for Australia with 78 from 89 balls during which she hit eight fours and one six. The left-hand batter had struggled in the one-off women’s Test last week but on Thursday she looked more assured with her footwork and shot selection.
When Perry and Litchfield fell in space 25 balls India would have sniffed an opportunity with Australia still needing 113 runs from 19.5 overs. But Beth Mooney (42, 47b; 4x4) and Tahlia McGrath (68*, 55b; 11x4) — her first half-century after nine innings — kept cool heads to take Australia to safety with their fourth-wicket association of 88 from 67 balls and continued their hold over India in ODIs.
Earlier, half-centuries from Jemimah Rodrigues (77-ball 82) and Pooja Vastrakar helped India post 282-8. Pooja remained unbeaten on 62 which came off 46 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes.
India suffered a blow before the start of the match when Smriti Mandhana was ruled out due to illness. It got worse for them when they were reduced to 95-4 after choosing to bat first. What hampered India initially was the lack of application from their batters.
Brief Scores: Australia 285/4 (Perry 78, Litchfield 75*) beat India 282/8 (Rodrigues 82, Vastrakar 62*, Bhatia 49) by 6 wickets.
English (US) ·