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Litchfield, Perry, McGrath fifties help clinical Australia go 1-0 up
Ellyse Perry and Phoebe Litchfield made India’s above-par score of 282 look less threatening as Australia went 1-0 up in the first of the three ODIs at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Losing Alyssa Healy in the first over of the innings, Litchfield and Perry notched up 78 and 75 respectively, with Tahlia McGrath contributing a valuable unbeaten 68 as Australia recorded the second highest run chase in women’s ODIs.
This was after Jemimah Rodrigues’s classy 82 and Pooja Vastrakar’s fighting 62 not out at No.9 on a sultry Mumbai afternoon propelled India to their highest ODI total against Australia.
Perry’s intent was clear from the beginning as she started off briskly to keep up with the required run rate of 5.66. The allrounder smashed nine fours and two clean sixes in her 72-ball innings while the left-handed Litchfield gave us a glimpse of the future of Australia’s batting with her calculative knock. She began the innings by just stroking to get accustomed to the conditions and once she got settled in, Litchfield began to find boundaries with the sweep, reverse sweep and punches off the back foot. Playing her 12th ODI, first in India, Litchfield scored eight boundaries and a six in her 89-ball knock. The left-right duo stitched together 148 off 150 balls, and by the time Perry was dismissed by Deepti Sharma in the 26th over, the foundation was well laid for the chase.
Beth Mooney and McGrath capitalised on the start to put on another 88 runs off just 67 deliveries and made the chase look effortless as the wicket became better to bat on. Vastrakar cleaned up Mooney for 42 in the 42nd over, but it was too late for India to bounce back with little help from the bowlers in the second innings. McGrath, in her first tour as full-time vice-captain, stayed till the end to complete the formalities with six wickets in hand.
Earlier, India fought back from early jitters after losing Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh and Harmanpreet Kaur early in the innings. The notable absentee from their XI was vice-captain and opener Smriti Mandhana, who was unwell and unavailable for selection. However,
Until the eighth-wicket stand between Rodrigues and Vastrakar, Australia did not allow any pair to settle in. Six of the seven bowlers picked up at least a wicket each after they were asked to bowl first on a track offering turn.
Rodrigues, who carried forward her Test form into ODIs, was visibly wilting in the heat, but she ran hard, swept hard and drove through covers to notch up her fifth fifty in her 25th ODI. After sharing 38, 39 and 45 runs with Bhatia, Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur respectively, she found Vastrakar’s help to put on 68 runs – the only fifty-plus partnership of the innings – for the eighth wicket.
Rodrigues’ 77-ball stay had seven fours while Vastrakar hit seven fours and two sixes in her 46-ball knock. After Rodrigues’ dismissal in the 47th over, Vastrakar blasted her way to her fourth ODI fifty off 39 balls in the penultimate over, yet again proving her batting credentials lower down the order.
All four of Vastrakar’s ODI fifties have come while batting at No.8 or lower. No other woman has scored more than two fifties while batting at No.8 or lower in ODIs.
It looked like India saved the best for the last phase, accumulating 82 runs in the final ten overs. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome Meg Lanning-less Australia. For the visitors, Wareham and Ashleigh Gardner were crucial in scalping two wickets each.
Brief scores:
Australia women 285 for 4 in 46.3 overs (Ellyse Perry 75, Phoebe Litchfield 78, Beth Mooney 42, Tahlia McGrath 68*) beat India women 282 for 8 in 50 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 82, Deepti Sharma 21, Pooja Vastrakar 62*, Yastika Bhatia 49, Amanjot Kaur 20, Richa Ghosh 21; Georgia Wareham 2-55, Ashleigh Gardner 2-63) by six wickets
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Flood warning issued to the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara
Due to heavy rainfall received in the upper catchment areas of the Mahaweli River over the past few hours, there is a risk of minor flooding in the low-lying areas surrounding the Mahaweli River within the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara.Residents living in the above mentioned areas and motorists using roads passing through these areas are urged to exercise extreme caution and remain highly vigilant regarding the prevailing situation.
Furthermore, residents living in close proximity to the Mahaweli River in these areas are advised to remain highly alert to the situation and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves from any potential flooding.The relevant disaster management authorities are requested to take all necessary measures in response to this situation.
The National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide Red Alerts to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya effective from 14:00 hrs on 20.09.2026 To 14:00 hrs on 21.09.2026
Accordingly,
LEVEL III [RED] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pasbage Korale in the Kandy district, Dehiowita, Aranayake, Deraniyagala, Mawanella and Yatiyanthota in the Kegalle district and Kothmale West, Kotmale East, Ambagamuwa and Norwood in the Nuwara Eliya district
LEVEL II [AMBER] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Padukka in the Colombo district, Nagoda, Thawalama and Neluwa in the Galle district, Bulathsinhala, Palindanuwara, Walallawita and Agalawatta in the Kalutara district, Ganga Ihala Korale in the Kandy district, Bulathkohupitiya and Kegalle in the Kegalle district, Akuressa and Pitabeddara in the Matara district, Thalawakele in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ratnapura, Ayagama, Kuruwita and Ratnapura in the Ratnapura district.
LEVEL I [YELLOW] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Seethawaka in the Colombo district, Niyagama and Baddegama in the Galle district, Mirigama in the Gampaha district, Ingiriya in the Kalutara district, Udapalatha and Yatinuwara in the Kandy district, Galigamuwa, Warakapola and Ruwanwella in the Kegalle district, Kotapola, Pasgoda and Athuraliya in the Matara district, and Eheliyagoda, Kalawana and Elapatha in the Ratnapura district.
A 49-ball unbeaten hundred from Shafali Verma and three-wicket hauls apiece for Nandani Sharma and Deeoti Sharma helped India march into the final of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
Batting first in Nisshin against Bangladesh, India posted 195 for 4, with Shafali bringing up her maiden white-ball international hundred off the final ball of the innings. She pummelled nine sixes and three fours in an innings that left Bangladesh needing a record chase to reach the final.
Smriti Mandhana gave India a rapid start with a 19-ball 37, during which she became the leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is, while Harmanpreet Kaur found some form with a 33-ball 40 from No. 4.
India’s innings began with a 36-ball opening stand of 72, with Shafali setting the pace by smashing 34 off her first 17 deliveries, while Mandhana initially played second fiddle before gaining pace. G Kamalini, at No. 3, failed to make use of another opportunity, while Richa Ghosh made only two. Harmanpreet started sluggishly, as she has tended to in the recent past, but overcame those early struggles to land some lusty blows towards the end of the innings. She added 94 off 55 balls with Shafali for the third wicket.
Bangladesh never seriously threatened the target. Dilara Akter made 27 at the top of the order, but opening partner Juairiya Ferdous was dismissed for a duck and Bangladesh’s Nos. 3 to 5 were unable to get going. Sultana Khatun, batting at No. 9, was their second-highest scorer with just 12.
Nandani got the first wicket in the second over after which fellow new-ball bowler Kranti Gaud delivered a second blow in the third over. Shree Charani then sent Nigar Sultana back in the final over of the powerplay to leave Bangladesh at 38 for 3.
There was no way in as Bangladesh failed to get any partnership going and a double-wicket 11th over from Nandani exposed the tail. Deepti then trapped Marufa Akter lbw and had Sanjida Akter holing out in the 16th over to complete the resounding win.
India will now face Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match, a repeat of the final from 2023. Bangladesh will meet Pakistan for the bronze-medal fixture.
Scores:
India Women 195 for 4 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 37, Shafali Verma 100*, Harmanpreet Kaur 40: Marufa Akter 1-43, Sanjida Akter Meghla 1-25, Rabeya Khan 1-35, Nahida Akter 1-45) beat Bangladesh Women 81 in 15.4 overs (Dilara Akter 27, Sharmin Akhter 10, Sultana Khatun 12*; Kranti Gaud 1-20, Nandani Sharma 3-25. Shree Charani 2-07, Shreyanka Patil 1-22, Deepti Sharma 3-07) by 114 runs
[Cricinfo]
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