Women’s ODI World Cup: Australia outplay India, enter semis

Auckland, March 19

Australia made light work of the highest chase in women’s ODI World Cup history to beat India by six wickets and seal their semifinals berth here today.

After Australia elected to field first, half-centuries from skipper Mithali Raj (68 off 96), Yastika Bhatia (59 off 83) and Harmanpreet Kaur (57 not out off 47) steered India to 277/7. Such a total had never been chased successfully in the history of the World Cup, but the Meg Lanning-led Australia easily cruised to their fifth win in as many games.

Australia have been in ominous form and the batting-friendly conditions at Eden Park made the chase a cakewalk. Openers Alyssa Healy (72 off 65) and Rachael Haynes (43 off 52) got Australia off to a terrific start with a 121-run stand before skipper Lanning (97 off 107) took the team on the cusp on victory. Jhulan Goswami needed to defend eight runs off the final over but Beth Mooney (30 not out of 20) got the job done off the first three balls.

Bowling concerns

The path to semifinals has become tougher for India after their third loss in five games. The 2017 edition runners-up play their two remaining games against South Africa and Bangladesh.

If batting was a concern for India before the game, Australia getting to a stiff target with ease has given the bowlers plenty to ponder over. Healy was the aggressor alongside the in-form Haynes and toyed with the Indian attack. The likes of Goswami and Meghna Singh were either too full or too short early on and Healy was quick to punish them. When India's best spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad came into the attack, Healy used the sweep shot brilliantly to put more pressure on Mithali Raj’s team.

Brief scores: India 277/7 (Raj 68, Bhatia 59, Kaur 57*; Brown 3/30); Australia: 280/4 in 49.3 overs (Lanning 97; Vastrakar 2/43). — PTI

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