The Indian women team worked like a well-oiled machine to register a comprehensive five wickets win in the final ODI at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart on Sunday. Having won the series 2-0, the Southern Stars were denied a clean sweep after Mithali Raj’s 89 helped India overcome Australia’s 231/7 with three overs to spare. India also gained two points for the victory that will be crucial to qualification for the ICC World Cup to be held next year.
The Indian bowlers did a good job to restrict the opposition to 250 after being asked to bowl first. Jhulan Goswami gave India an early breakthrough when she removed opener Nicole Bolton for nine on the third ball of the seventh over. India were pushed back when Alex Blackwell and star all-rounder Ellyse Perry put on nearly 100 runs on the board for the third wicket. But with the hosts on 142, Shikha Pandey struck twice in one over as India bounced back strongly. The visitors managed to pick wickets to curb the flow, but Rene Farrell hit four boundaries late in the innings to help the home team to a fighting total.
The Indian batting that has seen a steady progress on the tour put on another fine display under lights. Compact left-hander Smriti Mandhana, who hit her maiden century in the previous ODI shared a fifty run stand with Mithali for the second wicket after Veda Krishnamurthy was out for 12 in the seventh over. Smriti once again looked impressive and brought up her fifty in just 47 balls.
On the other end, Mithali, who took 82 balls to reach the milestone, shifted gears after Smriti was out while trying to defend the ball off the back foot. Mithali shared a 71-run stand with Harmanpreet Kaur (22) and put on 31 with Poonam Raut before being run-out in the 42nd over. India still needed 36 runs, but Raut and Shikha, who struck two boundaries got India close before Jhulan Goswami sealed the deal with a boundary.
Mithali was declared the Player of the Match while Perry bagged the Player of the Tournament award for her all-round effort of 171 runs and nine wickets in three games.
India will next play Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series in Ranchi from 15 February.
Brief scores: Australia women 231 (Alex Blackwell 60, Ellyse Perry 50, Shikha Pandey 3/50, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2/41) lose to India women (Mithali Raj 86, Smriti Mandhana 55, Ellyse Perry 2/51) by 5 wickets
