Indian women versus Australian women 2nd ODI: Beth Mooney brilliance takes Australia to a thrilling last ball win

 

Thanks to a brilliant knock by Beth Mooney and contributions from McGrath, Carey, Australia sealed a thrilling last ball in the 2^nd ODI played at McKay on Friday.

 

Australian captain Meg Lanning won the toss and decided to field first. The Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma started off aggressively taking on the Australian bowlers. Mandhana was aggressive smashing Darice Brown for 4 boundaries in an over. Shafali Verma also joined in with some lovely boundaries keeping the momentum going for the Indian team. At the end of the first 10 overs, Indian women posted 68 for 0. George Warhem was not able to bowl as she left field due to an injury. 

After the field restrictions, Sophie Molineux provided the much-needed breakthrough for the hosts dismissing Verma taking the inside edge onto the stumps. Verma and Mandhana put on 74 runs laying a strong foundation. The Australian team made a strong comeback with tight overs against Mithali Raj and Mandhana. Soon after, Mithali Raj was run out with a mix-up with Mandhana. Yastika Bhatia struggled to time the ball and looked out of sorts. The youngster eventually could not resist pressure and was dismissed by Darice Brown to leave the Indian team struggling. On other hand, Smriti Mandhana kept his composure to reach her fifty off 55 balls.

Richa Ghosh came to the crease and looked positive right from word go. On other hand, Smriti Mandhana kept his composure to reach her fifty off 55 balls. Both Indian batters kept momentum as Australian bowlers struggled with their lines and lengths. Mandhana's brilliant innings came to an end as she was caught by Beth Mooney. Mandhana and Ghosh added 76 runs for the 4^th wicket.

Richa Ghosh showed intent in taking on the Australian bowlers. Australian fielding was not up to the mark as Healy dropped a chance to dismiss Deepti Sharma. McGrath dismissed Ghosh with a good delivery to bring back Australia into the match. Deepti Sharma looked out of sorts with her timing and was eventually caught by Perry. Jhulan Goswami and Pooja Vastrakar steadied the ship for the visitors with aggressive strokes keeping the scoreboard ticking.

Molineux dismissed Vastrakar off the final ball as the Indian team scored 274 for 7 in 50 overs. Vastrakar and Goswami added 53 runs for the 7^th wicket.

It was an ideal start for the visitors as Jhulan Goswami produced a peach to dismiss Alyssa Healy without opening her account. Meghna Singh and Goswami were simply sensational troubling Meg Lanning and Beth Mooney with seam and swing. Poonam Yadav dropped a simple chance to get rid of Mooney.

Meghna Singh got rid of Australian captain Meg Lanning with a sharp bouncer taking the edge to Rajeshwari Gakywad to leave the hosts in trouble. Beth Mooney played some lovely shots to put Indian bowlers under some pressure. A superb throw by Pooja Vastrakar resulted in the run out of Ellyse Perry to leave Australia in trouble. At the end of the first 10 overs, Australian women scored 34 for 3.

The Indian bowlers kept a tight lid on the Australian batters. A lovely catch by Bhatia ended in the wicket of Gardner to leave hosts in big trouble at 52 for 4.

Talia McGrath came to the crease and took time to settle before taking the attack to Indian bowlers who struggled with a wet ball. Mooney also looked in decent touch keeping the scoreboard ticking making life tough for the visitors.

The Indian fielders struggled as Jhulan Goswami missed a chance to dismiss McGrath. After the dropped chance, McGrath completed his maiden ODI fifty off 57 balls. Mooney also looked composed and reached her half-century off 81 balls. Both batters looked made the batting look easy and kept the momentum going on for the hosts.

Deepti Sharma got rid of McGrath with a loose delivery straight into the hands of Bhatia. McGrath and Mooney added 126 runs for the 5^th wicket. Nicola Carey looked in decent touch right from the word go hitting boundaries and keeping the scoreboard ticking. On other hand, Mooney kept momentum ahead for the Australian team reaching her century off 117 balls. Richa Ghosh missed a stumping chance to dismiss Carey.

The match went right down the wire as Mooney and Carey showed great courage. With 13 runs required off the final over, Beth Mooney and Carey put Indian fielders under immense pressure. Jhulan Goswami struggled with wet delivery. Richa Ghosh missed a golden run-out chance to dismiss Mooney.

With 3 runs required off 1 delivery, Carey was caught by Mithali Raj but was called a no-ball on height. Carey hit 2 runs to help Australian women chase down the target. Carey and Mooney added unbeaten 97 runs for the 6^th wicket.

Australian women 275 for 5 in 50 overs ( Beth Mooney 125*, Tahlia McGrath 74, Meghna Singh 1/38) beat Indian women 274 for 7 in 50 overs ( Smriti Mandhana 86, Richa Ghosh 44, Tahlia McGrath 3/45) by 5 wickets.

For her unbeaten 125 not-out, Beth Mooney was awarded the player of the match. Australian women take a 4-0 lead in the multi-format points system and registered their 26th successive ODI win. 

 

 

 

Australian women seal a thrilling last-ball win over Indian women in the 2nd ODI