Alyssa Healey  produced a fairytale farewell to ODI cricket with a stunning 158 from 98 balls in her final innings while Beth Mooney made an unbeaten century as Australia thumped 409 for 7 to trounce India in Hobart and ensure they can’t be beaten in the multi-format series with just the Perth Test to play.

Healy, who battled a calf issue during her innings that she put down to “getting old”, produced a vintage performance the equal of any of her best innings across a glittering career. She smashed 27 fours and two sixes in a staggering display to become just the sixth woman, and second Australian, to post two 150-plus scores in ODIs and the second fastest 150 off 95 balls. It was also the highest score in a women’s ODI in Australia, the highest anywhere against India, and she joined Johmari Logtenberg as the only other woman to score a century in their final ODI.

Mooney played the silent partner in a 145-run stand with Healy but then picked up the slack to reach her sixth ODI century in the final over off just 82 balls and finished with 106 from 84. Australia had lost 4 for 37 at the start of the last 10 but Nicola Carey smashed 34 not out off 15 to help Australia race past 400.

India’s chase never got going as regular wickets meant the required run-rate got out of control. Jemimah Rodrigues made 42 off 29 but India gave up on the chase after she fell. Alana King ripped through the middle-order to take 4 for 33. Sneh Rana top-scored at No.9 with 44 as they were bowled out for 224, 185 short of the target.

The game turned into such a procession that when India were 164 for 7, needing 246 from 18 overs to win, Healy indulged herself by bowling the first two overs of her international career.

The win completed a 3-0 ODI series sweep against the reigning world champions who knocked Australia out in the semi-final last year. It also meant Australia took an 8-4 points lead in the multi-format series with India only able to draw the series given just four points are on offer for the win in the lone Test that starts on Friday in Perth.

Healy was earlier supported well by Georgia Voll who made 62 from 52 in a 104-run stand. India’s bowlers had a difficult day with Shree Charani becoming only the third woman to concede 100-plus runs in an ODI innings. She was one of three bowlers to concede more than 80 runs in the innings, doubling the number of India bowlers to have ever conceded that many.

Extraordinarily, Healy’s innings began by facing a maiden from Renuka Singh after she had walked through a guard of honour from India having been sent into bat. A trademark pull shot off Kashvee Gautam got her innings going. She added two more boundaries before receiving a slice of luck off Renuka when an lbw shout was given not out but DRS revealed it was umpire’s call on hitting leg stump.

The close call sharpened her focus. She played with great control to reach 50 off 49 balls.

Voll outpaced her skipper, continuing the crisp ball-striking she showed during her century in the second ODI on the same surface on Friday.

After some early edges found the rope she cruised to 48 before chipping Gautam to cover where Harmanpreet Kaur dropped a straightforward chance diving forward after misjudging the flight.

Voll reached 50 off 42 three balls later and thumped two more boundaries off Charani. But the return of Rana forced an error. First ball Voll jumped down to whip over midwicket and miscued wastefully to long-on with Harleen Deol holding on.

Healy felt her calf cramp not long after and started unfurling a full array of pulls, sweeps, glides and lofted drives over cover and mid-on. She had another slice of luck when Rana missed a difficult chance at short fine that went untouched to the fence.

Healy reached her eighth ODI century, the equal second-most for an Australian woman, off just 79 balls. Her assault on Charani immediately after was vicious. She took 23 off an over including four strikes over the off-side ring and a slog sweep over long-on. She followed that with another slog sweep off Deepti Sharma that landed in the dugout.

She needed just 16 balls to go from 100 to 150. A double century looked on, but her calf was clearly a problem. After a dazzling display of conventional strokeplay she attempted a bizarre premeditated reverse paddle sweep to a rank full toss from Rana and was bowled behind her back with 13.3 overs left in the innings.

Mooney’s innings mirrored Healy’s in many ways. She was 2 off 12 and before accelerating to reach 50 off 53. But her second fifty took just 29 balls as she showcased her incredible 360-degree skills.

She only struck 10 boundaries and one six but no two boundaries went in the same zone as she faced just two dot balls in her last 40 to finish off the innings alongside Carey, who thumped 22 from Charani’s last over including a stunning reverse sweep for six over point.

India’s chase started brightly with Pratika Rawal and Rodrigues racing to 62 inside eight overs after the early loss of Smriti Mandhana. Australia’s 19-year-old debutant Lucy Hamilton was driven repeatedly by Pratika and lapped relentlessly by Rodrigues. But Pratika was adjudged lbw to Annabel Sutherland, with ball tracking showing it was only just clipping leg. Rodrigues then fell to Ash Gardner, top edging a sweep to Hamilton at short fine.

India completely stalled thereafter with Deol run out after a mix-up and Harmanpreet trapped plumb lbw to King. It was the first of three lbw’s for Australia’s legspinner. She also clean bowled Richa Ghosh to continue her love affair with Bellerive Oval.

Brief scores:
Australia Women 409 for 7 in 50 overs (Alyssa Healy 158, Beth Mooney 106*, Georgia Voll 62; Shree Charani 2-106, Sneh Rana 2-66) beat India Women 224 in 45.1 overs (Sneh Rana 44, Jemmimah Rodrigues 42; Alana  King 4-33, Georgia Wareham 2-03) by 185 runs

[Cricinfo]

This fixture was, of course, known in advance, but the stakes are somewhat surprising. Neither was it expected that India could be knocked out of their own party if they lose to West Indies nor was it expected that West Indies could go to the semi-finals if they win this match.

The expected result still is for India to overcome that one blip against South Africa and make it to the semi-finals. Then again, jeopardy and unpredictability are at the heart of this format.

The path to get here has been similar for both teams: a thumping loss to South Africa and a resounding win over Zimbabwe. Even their scores against Zimbabwe were nearly identical.

West Indies are one team India haven’t faced in their dominant run starting with the 2024 T20 World Cup. They are, in fact, the last team to have beaten India in a series way back in August 2023.

Both sides have improved since then. India are a well-oiled domination machine, West Indies have put together scary six-hitters who have happened to hit form. They have hit more sixes than any side at any T20 World Cup, and India are three behind them with 63 so far.

It is with the ball that India hold an advantage. India’s bowlers are match-winners. They have pace and mystery. It gives them room for error. West Indies are a strictly defensive bowling unit. They’ll need everything to go their way to get the better of India.

He might have taken just 26 balls to get there against Zimbabwe, but it was Abhishek Sharma’s  second-slowest fifty in T20Is. That’s because he had scored just 15 runs in the first four matches, which made him take his time against offspin, scoring just 13 off 17 balls against that style of bowling. That makes Roston Chase an important player even though he went for 46 against South Africa. He is the only spinner in the West Indies squad who takes his stock ball away from left-hand batters; India have five of them in their top eight.