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Australia's all-rounded effort sealed off a 3-run victory as well as the three-match ODI series against India on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium.
Australia took an unassailable 2-0 lead over India following their 3-run victory in the second 50-over affair. Even after a sluggish performance on the field, India looked well in the game to chase down the total. Richa Ghosh acted as the driving force throughout India's chase of 259 against a fierce Australian bowling line-up. Her knock brought India close yet they fell so far away from bringing the series to level terms. After Yastika Bhatia's dismissal, Smriti Mandhana (34) provided the much-needed fireworks at the beginning. The left-handed batter looked poised to play a big knock, but Alana King with her leg break spin got the better of the batter. Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues stitched up a crucial 88-run stand to pull India back into the game. Georgia Wareham got the crucial breakthrough as she removed Jemimah for 44. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (5) failed to deal with Wareham's spin which further put India in trouble. Richa got close to her maiden ton as she stood just four runs short of her much-deserved three figures. She went for the glory, committed to the drive but to her luck, the ball went straight to Phoebe Litchfield off Annabel Sutherland's delivery. Wickets kept falling at one end as Deepti Sharma stood unbeaten on the other end. After Harleen Deol's dismissal, India needed 16 runs in the final over. Alyssa Healy handed the ball to Sutherland to see off the game. On the first ball, Deepti struck a four to bring down the occasion to 12 runs in 5 balls. Sutherland recovered in the next two balls which also saw Shreyanka Patil's catch dropped. With nine needed in the final two balls, Sutherland kept composure, bowled slower delivers away from the batter to see off the game for Australia. Earlier in the innings, after Australia put India to bat first, the hosts' sloppy fielding saw them drop seven catches which in return helped Australia to keep the scoreboard moving and put up a challenging total of 258/8. Aussie opener Phoebe Litchfield (63 runs from 98 balls) and Ellyse Perry (50 runs from 47 balls) played crucial knocks to help the team lay a steady foundation. In the 25th over, after colliding with Pooja, Sneh Rana went down on the ground while holding her head. Medics came in to give her on-field treatment and she walked off the field while applying an ice pack. Rana complained of headache after a collision while fielding during the second ODI against Australia. She has been taken for scans and she will not take any further part in the ongoing ODI. Harleen Deol has been named as a concussion substitute. Unbeaten knocks from King (28* runs from 17 balls) and Kim Garth (11* runs from 10 balls) helped Australia reach 258/8. Litchfield in the first eight overs was dropped thrice while Alana King was dropped twice in the 48th and the 49th over. In the final over of the inning, King slammed two sixes against pacer Pooja Vastrakar which propelled Australia to a competitive total. Deepti bagged five wickets in her 10-over spell and conceded 38 runs. Pooja, Shreyanka Patil, and Sneh Rana picked up one wicket each. Brief score: Australia 258/8 (Phoebe Litchfield 63(98), Ellyse Perry 50(47), Alana King 28*(17); Deepti Sharma 5-38) vs India 255/8 (Richa Ghosh 96, Jemimah Rodrigues 44; Annabel Sutherland 3-47). (ANI)
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