Brisbane (TIP)- India put up a dismal show with the bat as Australia stamped their superiority over the visitors with a five-wicket win in the first Women’s ODI.
Opting to bat, India collapsed from 62/3 to 100 all out in 34.2 overs with Australia pacer Megan Schutt picking up an impressive five-wicket haul. Jemimah Rodrigues, who batted at No. 5, top-scored for India with a 23 off 42 balls.
Australia did experience a minor stutter in the run chase, when Renuka Thakur struck twice in the same over, but coasted to victory in 16.2 overs. Debutant opener Georgia Voll (46 not out off 42 balls) produced a measured knock to ensure a comfortable win. Her effort included a six off Renuka in the cow corner region. Her opening partner Phoebe Litchfield (35 off 29 balls) was the aggressor in their 48-run stand, smashing six fours in a row — four coming off Renuka and two off debutant pacer Titas Sadhu.
“We bowled well even though it was a disappointing total on board,” India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said.
“A few of us got starts in the batting but we were not able to take the batting till the end and we should work on the partnerships. We know the pitch now and hopefully have some clear ideas for the next ODI,” she added.
The second ODI will be played here on Sunday, December 7.
India coach Amol Muzumdar picked out lack of application on the part of the batters for his team’s disappointing start to the series. “Definitely, I am disappointed because we were expecting some more runs. It wasn’t the best wicket as they also lost wickets chasing 100 runs,” Muzumdar said. “If we could have applied ourselves a little bit better with the bat, we could have got more runs on the board.”
Muzumdar, though, was happy with the bowlers. “The bowlers, especially young ones, did a fantastic job which is a good sign for Indian cricket. Priya (Mishra) is in her second series in international cricket. She did well against New Zealand and was really impressive today,” he said.
Brief scores: India: 100 all out in 34.2 overs (Rodrigues 23; Schutt 5/19); Australia: 102/5 in 16.2 overs (Voll 46*; Renuka 3/45, Priya 2/11).