Key events
23rd over: Australia 149-1 (Healy 78, Perry 30) Healy makes up some ground after that last over. Lovely timing on the standing paddle sweep to send away a ball outside her heel, four through fine leg, then plays another of those swatting pull shots to whack Deepti over midwicket to the fence. Her score is mounting, and this too after 49 overs of wicketkeeping and captaincy in the heat.
22nd over: Australia 141-1 (Healy 70, Perry 30) Got to tie Perry down to force a mistake, tie Perry down to make Healy twitchy. India can send that required rate northwards quickly with some quiet overs and a wicket. Charani takes the first step, bowling a maiden to Perry, who finds the field several times.
21st over: Australia 141-1 (Healy 70, Perry 30) They keep finding at least one boundary in most overs. Third time today, Rana is smacked from her sixth ball. This time it’s Healy and a sweep shot doing the damage. The run rate is about level with the required rate at 6.5 right now.
20th over: Australia 132-1 (Healy 64, Perry 27) Lovely shot from Perry, square drive behind point for four! Splits the fielders to take more runs from Kranti Gaud, who is 0 for 45 from six overs.
19th over: Australia 125-1 (Healy 63, Perry 21) Sneh Rana to continue. The reverse got Litchfield out, but Perry gets away with it, using an unorthodox method. She’s deliberately reversed that with the back of the bat. Shapes to go down to sweep, sees the line, decides to reverse, but doesn’t try to rotate the bat face around, just goes with the other side instead and gets it away for four. Healy finds another boundary too, her option being a cut through cover. Rana going at a run a ball from four overs.
18th over: Australia 116-1 (Healy 59, Perry 16) Kranti Gaud comes back to bowl with an older ball, having been belted by Healy with the newer one. She’s still bowling on the short side, but only gives up five singles to a series of pull shots, mostly.
17th over: Australia 111-1 (Healy 57, Perry 13) Almost a run out! Clipped to midwicket, Perry is wanting to sprint from the non-striker’s end, Healy sends her back. Hits the reverse thrusters, gets moving in the other direction, and like a cat in the morning, it takes a big stretch for Perry to make her ground. Just. That wakes her up, and when she gets strike she lofts a drive inside-out over cover from Deepti for four.
16th over: Australia 105-1 (Healy 56, Perry 8) A couple more runs via the cover drive for Healy, starting off a Charani over that yields five. Perry is just knocking singles in these early stages, as these two will look to settle into their historical mode of fire and ice.
15th over: Australia 100-1 (Healy 52, Perry 7) Three runs from Deepti’s over, as Healy winds up and plays a huge shot that she nicks into her pad. Often a danger zone for Healy once she registers a fast fifty, as she gets into the mode of wanting to hit everything…
Half century! Alyssa Healy 50 from 35 balls
14th over: Australia 97-1 (Healy 50, Perry 6) A slow over from Charani but still a fast start for Australia, with Healy raising the fastest 50 of the tournament so far. Needs to press on though and keep Australia ahead of the rate, not hole out.
13th over: Australia 95-1 (Healy 49, Perry 5) Deepti Sharma on to bowl her off-breaks, but the runs keep coming for Australia. A short ball that Healy cuts, a straight ball that Perry nicks past the keeper very fine. 10 from the over.
12th over: Australia 85-1 (Healy 44, Perry 0) Finally, some Indian sand in the Australian gears. One run plus the wicket from the over.
WICKET! Litchfield c Rana b Charani 40, Australia 85-1
The horns go wild. Big local crowd here for this game, relatively speaking. The left-arm spinner Shree Charani is the bowling change, and her second ball does the job. Again Litchfield with the reverse, a shot that often looks her least convincing. She middles it but straight at backward point, where Sneh Rana takes a self-preservation catch, jerking her head backwards as she reverse-cups the ball.
11th over: Australia 84-0 (Healy 43, Litchfield 40) Sneh Rana gets through an over without the late boundary this time, instead using up a review for an lbw shout that is close on line but Healy has inside edged it. Fired that ball in faster after bowling some very slow stuff, including one that beat Litchfield’s reverse sweep.
They need 6.3 an over from here, and are going at 7.6.
10th over: Australia 82-0 (Healy 42, Litchfield 39) Now it’s Litchfield’s turn to go on a streak. First ball of Amanjot’s over, the batter jumps across to the off stump and scoops for four. Next ball, stays back and slots it like Healy, a pull to a length ball, over midwicket flat as you like. Third ball, steps to leg and carves through point! Not far from the catcher, but four.
Fourth ball, missed stumping! Oh no. Slower ball, a big loopy one, and it does Litchfield in the air, having galloped down at it. Dips and beats the bat, but it hits Richa’s gloves and bounces off, and the keeper falls into the stumps lunging forward to try to claim the rebound.
A disappointed Amanjot goes back to her mark, then comes in and bowls a full ball, right in the slot. Driven dead straight for four. Then a single to keep strike., That’s 17 from the over, and 82 from the Powerplay, where India made 58.
9th over: Australia 65-0 (Healy 42, Litchfield 22) And again, Australia get the escape late, after five good balls from Sneh Rana. She’s teasing Healy on the outside edge, beating the attempted glide. But Healy takes the risk from the final ball and gets away with it, down the pitch to lift the ball over cover – not by much, but enough. Four runs.
8th over: Australia 60-0 (Healy 38, Litchfield 21) Healy is inspired by that last-ball six. First ball of the next over, she hits six herself. A length ball really, but Healy is short enough to get under it with a quasi-pull, and strong enough to muscle that shot flat over long on. That’s some effort.
Second ball of the over, Kranti bowls length again and it’s smeared through midwicket for four. Third ball, same dose!
Pressure on now. Kranti goes to the short ball, but it’s called wide. And the replacement delivery? Driven through cover for four! The bowler manages to get out of the over with two dot balls, but it has still cost 19 runs.
Current run rate now at 7.3, and the required rate down at 6.5. What a difference one over can make.
7th over: Australia 41-0 (Healy 20, Litchfield 21) A final flourish from Litchfield! India bring on Sneh Rana’s off spin in the hope of turning the ball away from the left-hander. It’s almost a quiet over. It almost dulls the rate. But from the last ball, Litchfield skips down and drives with the turn over cover for six.
6th over: Australia 33-0 (Healy 19, Litchfield 14) Crashed by Healy! Such power in that cut shot, as Kranti Gaud bowls wide outside off. There’s a sweeper at cover point only a few metres from the line of that ball, but it travels so quickly that it’s already past her as she sails futilely into view with an outstretched hand. India were 23-0 at this point. The required rate is approaching 7 per over, the current rate is 5.5.
5th over: Australia 25-0 (Healy 12, Litchfield 13) Two drops by Amanjot: drops short (and punished on the pull) then drops the return catch from a fuller ball. Tough to count that one, it must be said: it dips as it approaches the bowler after Healy drives it straight, and it just gets the fingertips and then back past Amanjot for another four runs.
4th over: Australia 16-0 (Healy 4, Litchfield 12) Now Kranti gets the ball to deck, again away from the left-hander and this is even closer to the edge. A wince from the bowler, then a smile. Litchfield plays cautiously, even leaves a ball. Six dots in a row! A rare ODI feat.
3rd over: Australia 16-0 (Healy 4, Litchfield 12) Another lovely shot through point from Litchfield but it goes squarer to the boundary rider. Healy tucks into the leg side. A little bit going on for the seamers with the new ball! Amanjot gets the rudder in position and decks it away from Litchfield a touch, beating the young lefty on the walk.
2nd over: Australia 13-0 (Healy 3, Litchfield 10) Much streakier for Litchfield’s second boundary! Chases a line outside off stump from Kranti Gaud and nicks the ball between slip and backward point. Australia up with the asking rate after two overs.
1st over: Australia 7-0 (Healy 2, Litchfield 5) So a big task for Australia ahead, but this pitch is a belter. Litchfield makes use of that second ball! A single for Healy gives Litchfield the strike, and the left-hander gets width from the seamer Amanjot around the wicket. Chases it and carves a boundary behind point, just past the fielder along the carpet but it flies so fast that there’s no stopping it.
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Megan Maurice
Well, it’s been a delight leading you through the first innings of this very exciting match, but it’s time for me to say good night. Of course, for a blockbuster match like this I couldn’t leave you in any hands but the best, so you’ve got Geoff Lemon to take you through to the end of this match. Enjoy and may cricket be the winner on the day!
There has naturally been a lot of chat during this match about the 2017 World Cup semi final, which is such a key moment in Indian women’s cricket lore, with Harmanpreet Kaur smashing a match-winning 171* to beat the defending champions and make it to the final. What a game that was, with a sensational 90 off 56 from Alex Blackwell nearly saving the day for Australia, but a well-deserved win from India in the end. It’s worth going back and checking out the highlights from that game (or even reading Alex Blackwell’s book Fair Game if you like – full disclosure, I was the co-author of that book, but she tells a great story about the game!)
India sets Australia 331 for victory
A brilliant start from India saw the openers set a fantastic platform, rattling Australia’s bowlers for the first time this tournament. There was a lot of scrambling bowling changes to try to get the breakthrough, but finally it came through Molineux, who had been struggling to that point.
Smriti Mandhana was the top scorer for India with 80 and fellow opener Pratika Rawal wasn’t far behind on 75. But key contributions from Deol (33), Jemimah (33) and Richa (32) helped to build India’s momentum through the innings and ensured there wasn’t a batting collapse after the openers fell. They will rue some missed opportunities, but they have managed to set a challenging total, which they are very capable of defending.
Australia had a mixed day with the ball – Sutherland was certainly their best, finishing with figures of 5-40 from her 9.5 overs. Molineux took three wickets, but leaked 75 runs from her 10 overs. Aside from Sutherland, all the bowlers were fairly expensive at different points and had to constantly readjust to try to dry up the runs.
This match is poised deliciously and I can’t wait to see what it has in store for us in Australia’s batting innings!
WICKET! Charani b Sutherland 0 (India 330)
Sutherland doesn’t manage the birthday hat trick, but she does get the birthday five-for and ends India’s innings an over early. She bowls full and straight to the number 11 to get the first and only bowled wicket of the day.
WICKET! Gaud c Wareham (sub) b Sutherland 1 (India 330-9)
Gaud does her best to go after Sutherland and at least get off strike, but she can only lob an easy catch into Wareham’s hands.
48th over: India 329-8 (Gaud 1, Rana 7)
Gardner starts the over by missing both her line and length and Rana delightedly paddles it for four. Gardner tries to adjust, but it’s ruled a wide. She then hits her length perfectly, but Wareham drops a simple catch. But it’s not an issue for long, as next ball Gardner gets Amanjot.
WICKET! Amanjot c Molineux b Gardner 16 (India 327-8)
These wickets are falling all around them now. Gardner catches Amajot’s outside edge and it flies into Molineux’s hands on the inner circle.
47th over: India 321-7 (Amanjot 16, Rana 1)
Molineux’s final over of the game and Amanjot starts it with a very nice drive through the covers for four. Molineux adjusts her length on the next ball, but continues to target the stumps. The batters take a risky single, but dart through quickly enough. Deepti tries to up the run rate, but only succeeds in losing her wicket. Australia are starting to get on top here, but India have built a good score already.
WICKET! Deepti c Mooney b Molineux 1 (India 320-7)
Deepti goes after it, but she can’t quite get it out of the middle of her bat and it lands in Mooney’s hands a few metres in from the boundary.
46th over: India 315-6 (Amanjot 11, Deepti 1)
Gardner is back onto the attack and Deepti is on strike, looking to get off the mark, which she does cutting for a single. It’s a good over from Gardner, not leaking too many runs.
45th over: India 310-6 (Amanjot 7, Deepti 0)
Birthday girl Sutherland continues her spell, she has been the pick of the bowlers today, certainly the most consistent, as well as getting a couple of key wickets. Jemimah and Amanjot focus on rotating the strike, knowing that Sutherland is difficult to score big runs against. Though no sooner do I type that than Jemimah picks the ball out of Sutherland’s hand, sets up early and scoops it for four. But Sutherland hasn’t finished toying with her and bowls her slower, wider ball next, bringing about Jemimah’s demise. Sutherland tries the slower ball again, but only succeeds in bowling a wide. There’s an appeal for a caught behind on the last ball of the over, but the third umpire rules it has hit the ground before bouncing into Healy’s gloves.
WICKET! Jemimah c Mooney b Sutherland 33 (India 309-6)
A great cameo from Jemimah, but unfortunately it must come to an end. Sutherland lures her in with the slower ball that’s a little bit wider, Jemimah reaches for it and sends it flying straight into Mooney’s hamds.
44th over: India 302-5 (Amanjot 7, Jemimah 28)
Expect some quick running now, with these two speedsters at the crease, they’ll be looking to turn ones into twos. There’s no messing around at this stage of the innings and they’re pushing the ball around the field and taking runs wherever they can find them. They bring up the 300 for India.