India women register biggest victory over Australia in ODI cricket history
India defeated Australia by 102 runs in the second ODI of the three-match series at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. Ahead of the ODI World Cup, slated to begin on September 30, the win will give the team plenty of confidence. Notably, opener Smriti Mandhana led the proceedings with the bat, scoring her 13th ODI century, while Kranti Goud stole the show with the ball.
Batting first, Smriti Mandhana dictated the game. Even in the previous match, the 29-year-old seemed in fine touch before being departed following a miscommunication. In the second ODI, she managed to score 117 runs as India posted 292 runs on the board. Batting at number five, Deepti Sharma played an important knock of 40 runs, Richa Ghosh and Sneh Rana scored 29 and 24 runs, respectively.
Meanwhile, despite the win, the batting needs to improve. Smriti set the tone for the team to cross the 300-run barrier, but they failed. The form of Harmanpreet Kaur is also slightly concerning, as the India captain hasn’t played well in ODIs in 2025.
Australia struggle in chase
When it came to the chase, Australia lost wickets at regular intervals. Alyssa Healy departed for nine runs, while Georgia Holl failed to open her tally. Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland played to their merit, but neither of them could accelerate and departed after scoring 44 and 45 runs, respectively.
Australia were eventually bundled for 190 runs. With that, they suffered their biggest defeat in ODI cricket history. On the other hand, India registered their first win over Australia at home in 18 years.
“The last two hundreds that I got against Australia were in losing cause, happy that we won the match today. The game-plan was simple. In the powerplay, with two fielders out, try and play the shots and the build the innings. It all depends on the conditions and who we play. You need to get 280-290 against Australia. The wicket was flat and i had to be aggressive,” said Mandhana, who was adjudged POTM.
Brief scores: India 292 all out in 49.5 overs (Smriti Mandhana 117, Deepti Sharma 40; Darcie Brown 3-42, Ash Gardner 2-39) beat Australia 190 all out in 40.5 overs (Annabel Sutherland 45, ellyse Perry 44; Kranti Goud 3-28, Deepti Sharma 2-24) by 102 runs.
