Australia pull off a heist to keep the winning streak alive

SCORECARD

Meg Lanning, who won the toss, put India in to bat first. Both teams made a change each from the previous game – Nicola Carey replaced Rachael Haynes for Australia while Rajeshwari Gayakwad was drafted into Indian XI in place of Sneh Rana.

Openers Smrithi Mandhana and Shafali Verma got India off to a quick start, putting up 68 without losing a wicket in the Powerplay. Left-arm orthodox bowler, Sophie Molineux broke India's first-wicket partnership at 74 runs in the first ball of the 11th over, when Shafali Verma (22) played on to her stumps.

Australia got their second when Mithali Raj (8) was run-out after confusion between the batters who were caught ball-watching.

At the other end, Mandhana, who seemed in great touch from ball one, scored her 19th ODI fifty and was also the top scorer for India. Mandhana took the attack Darcie Brown, who got her in the first ODI, and scored five out of the 11 boundaries against her.

Mandhana (86), who looked set for her fifth ODI hundred, was caught out by Mooney off Tahlia McGrath at point, in a manner similar to which she got out in the first match.

Solid contributions from Richa Ghosh (44) and Deepthi Sharma (23) made sure that India didn't lose momentum. A 53-run partnership between Jhulan Goswami (28*) and Pooja Vastrakar (29) towards the end of the innings saw the visitors post a healthy total of 274/7, which was the highest against Australia in their last 25 ODI matches.

Tahlia McGrath (3/45) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, snaring the wickets of Mandhana, Sharma and Ghosh. Sophie.

Chasing 275, Australia lost Alyssa Healy for a duck in the third ball of the innings, bowled by Jhulan Goswami. Alyssa was deceived by the veteran seamer's inswinger that went on to hit her stumps.

A splendid running catch from Rajeshwari Gayakwad brought an end to Meg Lanning's innings (6). Meghna Singh, who bagged her first international wicket, was rewarded for some brilliant bowling in her first two overs.

Australia's slipped further when a magnificent direct throw from the young Pooja Vastrakar caught Ellyse Perry (2) short of her crease in the 10th over. The hosts only managed to score 34 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in their first Powerplay, while India scored 68 for no loss in their first 10 overs.

Australia found themselves at 52/4 after Ashleigh Gardner (12) edged the ball straight to Bhatia at slips off Vastrakar's bowling.

Still needing 223 runs at that point, the hosts were a huge spot of bother before Beth Mooney and McGrath got together to pull off the rescue act. Mixing caution with aggression, the two brought up their respective fifties and brought their team back into the game.

The 126-run stand came to an end after McGrath (74) failed to put away a poor short ball on the legs and found Bhatia at short fine. Mooney continued to keep the scoreboard ticking and brought up her second ODI century.

The equation came down to 13 runs off the last over and the veteran Goswami was trusted to defend it. Though she did not concede a boundary, good running between the wickets coupled with a few extras brought it down to three off the last ball.

Goswami bowled a full toss that went straight to the hands of square leg and sparked celebrations from the Indian team. Upon review, the third umpire decided that the ball was above waist height and called it a no-ball. Needing two runs off the last ball, Carey (39*) hit it to long-on and completed a double to keep Australia's win streak alive.

Mooney was awarded the Player of the Match for her unbeaten 126.

The two teams will now clash at the same venue on Sunday, 26 September.