AI Simulation, IND-W vs AUS-W | Smriti Mandhana's knock and Deepti Sharma spell help India level series

Pitch and Weather

The surface in Mullanpur offered some extra bounce and seam movement to the pacers with the new ball, but the conditions got easier for the batters as the pitch flattened out, and the dew factor made it tough for the bowlers to grip the ball.

It was a nice and breezy evening in Chandigarh, with the recorded temperature being between 29 and 32 degrees Celsius. Though there was a bit of cloud cover in the beginning, there was no threat of rain at the venue. 

Toss

Lineups

India Women: Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, Shree Charani, Kranti Goud.

Australia Women: Alyssa Healy (c/wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Georgia Wareham, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt.

Match Report

The Aussies won the toss and decided to make use of a good-looking track in Mullanpur. However, Kranti Goud and Sneh Rana had managed to contain the batters early in the power play. Despite the slowish start, Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield managed to find their footing towards the end of the power play and ended the first 10 overs on a score of 52/0. The partnership between the two was looking good until  Litchfield was dismissed straight after the power play by Shree Charani. Trouble started for the Southern stars as the Aussie skipper also fell to a loopy off-spinner by Radha Yadav in the 12th over after a good-looking knock of 47 off 55 deliveries. Despite losing their openers, who failed to convert their starts, Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner controlled the Aussie innings, with Mooney dominating with some elegant strokeplay with great strike rotation and Gardner playing the aggressor at the other end. The two put on 97 runs for the third wicket before Deepti Sharma got the better of Gardner as she gave a simple catch to deep mid-wicket in the 23rd over. Though Gardner’s aggressive knock of 42 off 36 came to an end, the Southern Stars were still in a strong position with the score reading 170/3. It seemed like a 300+ total was on the cards with Mooney looking set, and Annabel Sutherland also contributing with a few shots in the middle as well. As the partnership 42 started to look dangerous, Sharma returned in the 30th over and got both the set batters out, and got the game back in the balance. Mooney’s calm and composed knock of 76 off 88 came to an end after she was caught plumb in front of her stumps, and Sutherland chopped the ball onto her stumps in the space of just two deliveries. The runs started to dry up straight after the power play, with the Australia women’s score at 224/5 after 35 overs. The last 15 overs saw a sudden collapse in the Aussie innings as Yadav came back into the attack to get the wicket of Tahlia McGrath, and Sophie Molineux was dismissed cheaply by Rana in the 40th over. Though the cameos from Georgia Wareham and Alana King managed to push the final score to 263/8 in the end, it was the Indian bowlers who dominated the last 15 overs while only conceding 39 runs and taking three wickets. 

India openers Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana seemed to have started well until Meghan Schutt dismissed Rawal in the sixth over to get the Aussies back into the game. However, the young opener’s dismissal turned out to be a minor blip as Mandhana and Harleen Deol kept the runs flowing straight after the dismissal. The two batters put on 62 runs for the second wicket before Deol was dismissed for 44 in the 15th over by Gardner. Despite the wicket, the Women in Blue were in a great position with the score reading 102/2. The run flow continued as Mandhana’s elegance was joined by Harmanpreet Kaur’s aggression. The two experienced batters put the pressure on the Aussie bowlers with a 107-run stand off 120 deliveries to keep India Women in the chase. This partnership put them in a comfortable position at 209/2 after 35 overs and needed only 55 off the last 15 overs. While it looked like it would be a comfortable chase for the hosts, Kaur was dismissed by Gardner in the 36th over as she was caught plumb in front of her stumps on a score of 63, and Mandhana's stumps were knocked over by Kim Garth on a score of 83 in the next over. As the two set batters were dismissed, the Aussies got a sliver of hope as Jemima Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh were dismissed cheaply. While it looked like the Aussies might get back in the game, Deepti and Rana slowly and steadily took their team over the line with nine balls to spare

Player of the Match

Scorecard