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Australia's women's team completed the second-highest successful chase in the history of women's cricket following their six-wicket triumph over India at the Wankhdede Stadium in the first ODI on Thursday.
The World Champions, even without Meg Lanning, comfortably chased down the total of 283 with 21 balls to spare. India were running high on confidence after Renuka Singh dismissed Australia skipper Alyssa Healy for a three-ball duck. But the joy on the faces of the players soon washed away after Phoebe Litchfield (78) and Ellyse Perry (75) put up a 148-run stand. After their dismissals, Beth Mooney (42) and Tahlia McGrath (68*) ensured that the visitors chased down the target with ease and registered a historic win. Earlier in the innings, opting to bat first, India got off to a shaky start, losing opener Shafali Verma for 1 in the third over by Darcie Brown as the hosts lost their first wicket for 12. Yastika Bhatia and Richa Ghosh scored runs at a brisk pace but the latter was dismissed for 21 by Annabel Sutherland as India lost their second wicket for 41. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur walked out to bat with Bhatia and they helped the Indian women's team reach the 50-run mark in 10.1 overs. Ashleigh Gardner dismissed Harmanpreet for 9 to leave India tottering at 57/3 in 12.4 overs. Jemimah Rodrigues walked out to bat with Yastika and the latter continued to bat in full flow. Unfortunately, she was dismissed for 49 by Georgia Wareham missing her half-century by a whisker to leave India in a spot of bother at 95/4 in 19.5 overs. Deepti Sharma walked out to bat and along with Rodrigues, helped India cross the triple-figure mark in 21.1 overs. The moment they looked like resurrecting India's innings, Alana King dismissed Deepti for 21 as half of the Indian side was back in the pavilion with only 134 runs on the board. Amanjot Kaur then joined Rodrigues and the pair helped India cross the 150-run mark in 29.2 overs. Jemimah Rodrigues struck a half-century in 54 balls, hitting three boundaries. Wareham struck for the second time, dismissing Amanjot for 20 with India's score reading 179/6 in 36.1 overs. In the next over, Australia dealt India another blow as Megan Schutt dismissed Sneh Rana for 1 to leave India in deep trouble at 182/7 in 37.4 overs. Pooja Vastrakar walked out to bat with Rodrigues and helped India cross the 200-run mark in 40 overs. Rodrigues-Vastrakar scored runs at a brisk pace to form a 50-run partnership in 42 balls to take India to a fighting total. India's women's team reached the 250-run mark in 46.3 overs and Vastrakar also went on to score her half-century in just 39 balls. Rodrigues was dismissed by Ashleigh Gardner for 82 out of 77, hitting seven boundaries. Vastrakar remained unbeaten on 62 from 46 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes to guide the hosts to 282/8 in 50 overs. Brief scores: India 282/8 (Jemimah Rodrigues 82, Pooja Vastrakar 62*; Georgia Wareham 2/55) vs Australia 285/4 (Phoebe Litchfield 78, Ellyse Perry 75; Renuka Thakur Singh 1-30). (ANI)
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