Women's Cricket: Australia beat India by 8 wickets
The Indian women cricketers were left red-faced after Australia thrashed the hosts by 8 wickets in the first ODI of the ICC Women's Championship. A lacklustre batting performance from India saw them being bowled out for just 200, which Australia made light work of and completed the chase in 32.1 overs. For India, Mithali Raj didn't play today's match due to an illness.
Mandhana's dismissal opened up the floodgates
After having won the toss and electing to bat first, Indian openers got off to a decent start but Smriti Mandhana's dismissal opened up the floodgates. From 38/1 India went to 113/7. However, a 76 run partnership for the 8th wicket spared India's blushes as they managed to reach the 200 run mark before being bowled out.
Jemimah Rodrigues had a disastrous ODI debut
Mumbai teen Jemimah Rodrigues, who made her ODI debut today, had a miserable outing. She was dismissed for just a single run after facing 8 balls.
18-year-old Pooja Vastrakar's heroics go in vain
Pooja Vastrakar's resilience helped India reach the 200 run mark. She became the first woman to score a fifty while batting at number 9 or lower in ODI cricket. The previous best was 48 by Lucy Doolan against England in 2009.
Nicole Bolton's hundred seals the victory for Australia
Australians were not only disciplined with the ball, they outdid India with the bat as well. Nicole Bolton led the chase with a fine unbeaten ton to wrap it up with 8 wickets in hand and 107 balls to spare. The two sides will lock horns yet again at the same venue on Thursday and India will be hoping to play upto their potential.
Second fastest to 3000 ODI runs
It was a memorable day for Australian skipper Meg Lanning, who created history by becoming the second fastest woman to reach 3,000 ODI runs.
