AUS vs IND (W) 2024/25, Australia Women vs India Women 2nd ODI, Brisbane Match Report, December 8, 2024

Australia Batting 371 for 8 (Perry 105, Voll 101, Litchfield 60, Mooney 56, Thakor 3-62). India 249 (Ghosh 54, Mani 46*, Sutherland 4-39) for 122 runs

India will rue a poor performance with the ball and on the field as their dreams of a maiden series win over Australia in ODIs ended in familiar disappointment.

Her combative batting was clearly evident as she hit 12 four-balls in total and formed a 130-run opening partnership with 21-year-old compatriot Phoebe Litchfield, who scored 60 from 63 balls. As Australia’s young stars offered another glimpse of the future, Perry turned back the clock with stunning power strokes to become her country’s fourth player to reach 4000 ODI runs.

Perry added the finishing touches with 105 from 75 balls, equaling an Australian record six sixes, while Beth Mooney scored 56 from 44.

Australia captain Tahlia McGrath resisted the temptation to bowl first and her batters had to go to the front in potentially difficult conditions early in the game as the game started at 9:45 a.m. local time.

India’s new-ball bowlers Renuka Singh, who beat Australia by three wickets in the first game, and Saima Thakor were hoping to conjure momentum and make early breakthroughs ahead of the day’s worst heat. But they bowled too much and the runs started flowing as Litchfield hit a four on his second delivery before Voll took over with four fours in six balls, taking Australia to a flyer.

Litchfield had some luck at 5 after mis-hitting Thakor down the middle, only for Punia to miss a chance to jump forward. It proved costly as Harmanpreet resorted to the rotation of Deepti Sharma and Priya Mishra in the powerplay but to no avail.

Voll’s maturity continued to impress as she used her feet brilliantly against the spinners but was careful not to over-hit. Her driving also stood out as she reached her half-century off 43 balls.

Litchfield had been largely overshadowed before she got her innings going with well-executed reverse sweeps and rolled to a 58-ball 50. They were completely unconcerned until Voll was deceived and given out lbw on 64 by a superb googly from Mishra, who impressed late in the first over, before the successful ball-tracking check suggested it would miss leg stump.

India were finally rewarded in the next over when Litchfield beat Thakor straight to cover, but the respite was fleeting as Perry was in an aggressive mood as she unleashed her trademark lofted attack to devastating effect. Fully raced towards a century and her only scare was 86 when, after attempting a quick single, she was almost run out by a direct hit from Mani, but left her bat on the ground just in time.

It wasn’t long before Voll flipped Mani to the leg side to bring up her century, calmly raising her bat and helmet as her proud mother beamed to the applause in the stands. Voll was unable to continue after leaving behind a long throw from Thakur, but Perry took over with a flawless century from 72 balls, having previously scored 7,000 runs across all formats in international cricket.

Perry was eventually bowled by Deepti and her wicket sparked a late collapse, but Australia still easily surpassed the previous ground record of 325 for a women’s ODI.

With Punia unable to bat, India changed their batting order and Ghosh, batting at number 6 in the first ODI, got off to a bright start by hitting Schutt to the boundary on the third delivery. But India’s hopes were quickly dashed when opener Smriti Mandhana was bowled off the inside edge by quick Kim Garth and Australia’s disciplined attack kept the run rate under control despite Ghosh’s best efforts.

Leg-spinner Alana King ended Ghosh’s 72-ball 54 by bowling it around the legs as the pressure eased on Harmanpreet, who had started with a first-ball boundary and also hit a short ball from McGrath over the ropes. But Harmanpreet fell in the 28th over and the result was a formality despite the late fight of Jemimah Rodrigues, who hit 43 off 39 balls, and Mani.