Cricket was played at a breakneck speed in Delhi on Saturday, with Australia maintaining their record of not losing a women’s bilateral ODI series to India. Close to 800 runs were scored at a rate of over eight per over, with only 43 runs separating the two teams.

With just ten days to go for the Women’s World Cup 2025, a world record chase was attempted for a second day in a row after Pakistan almost chased down 313 in Lahore on Friday. Faced with a mountainous 413 to win in Delhi, India galloped at a high speed to be placed 204 for 2 in just 20 overs. But Australia gave a reminder of why they are the defending world champions by keeping at it, and striking regularly, to win the three-ODI series 2-1 on Saturday.

Riding on a 57-ball century from Beth Mooney and aided with misfields aplenty from India, Australia equalled their highest total, 412. Strange as it may sound, the final total seemed a few runs lesser than what they were likely to score before a late collapse of 6 for 34.

India’s turbo-charged response was led by vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who scored the second-fastest century in women’s ODIs. She added 121 with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, as Australia searched for ways to plug the flow of runs. It inadvertently came through Harmanpreet’s knee injury break, after which India lost three wickets in 19 balls.

Deepti Sharma, batting at No. 5 in Jemimah Rodrigues’ absence, continued to keep India’s dim hopes alive with a counter-attacking half-century. She made a 58-ball 72, and her strike rate of 124.13 was her quickest for a knock above 20 runs. She added 65 off just 54 balls for the eighth wicket with Sneh Rana. But with 59 needed off 46 balls, she holed out to deep midwicket to dash India’s hopes of a miracle.

Mandhana started from where she left off in New Chandigarh, hitting Megan Schutt for three successive fours in the third over. She also greeted her nemesis Ashleigh Gardner with a six and four, before smashing Kim Garth for two fours and a six in the space of five balls. Earlier in the evening, Australia had scored 77 for 1 at the end of the first powerplay – a score India easily surpassed in seven overs. They were 96 for 2 in ten overs, which is the second-highest total in the first powerplay in all ODIs.

Mandhana showed no signs of slowing down, getting to her half-century in 23 balls, before reaching her hundred in just 50 balls. She bettered her own mark of 77 balls from a few days ago, and also relegated Mooney’s 57-ball effort from earlier in the game to joint third-fastest. At the other end, Harmanpreet showed her silken touch as well as brute force on her way to a 32-ball fifty. But once Harmanpreet and Mandhana fell in consecutive overs, India’s challenge fizzled out.

But for India’s fielding missteps earlier in the afternoon, which cost them 26 off 11 balls as per ESPNcricinfo logs, the result could have been much different. Fielding has been one of the focal points under head coach Amol Muzumdar’s regime, and India looked to have turned a page with a clinical show in England. However, after dropping four catches in the first ODI, India grassed three chances on Saturday.

Georgia Voll was the beneficiary of two of those chances – first, when Richa Ghosh was wrong-footed and couldn’t hang on to the outside edge in the seventh over, and then, dropped twice by Radha Yadav. Radha only got her fingertips to a powerful swipe at square leg, before misjudging the pace of Voll’s flick and being late on the jump at midwicket. Voll scored 81 before top-edging a sweep to substitute Uma Chetry at short fine leg.

The tone was set early by captain Alyssa Healey, who wanted India to “run around in the heat”, and opted to bat. She attacked India’s new ball bowlers and Australia managed to hit two fours in each of the first five overs. Kranti Goud then dismissed her for the third time in three games but Voll then kept attacking, with Perry offering stability during a fluent innings of her own.

After Voll’s fall in the 22nd over, Mooney came in and never let the momentum shift. She found gaps at will, used the crease well to access empty parts of the field, and got to her fourth ODI century. The highlight of her innings was how she kept going in the hot and humid conditions, and scoring at a high rate while taking minimum risks. She added 106 from 72 balls with Perry, and then 82 off 46 with Gardner, to set the platform for Australia to post the highest team total in women’s ODIs against India.

It was only the seventh time a team crossed the 400-mark in women’s ODIs. That India responded with a strong challenge and posted the highest total in a chase in this format will give them solace with a World Cup on the horizon.

Brief scores:
Australia Women 412 in 47.5 overs  (Alyssa Healey 30, Georgia Voll 81, Ellyse Perry 68,  Beth Mooney 138, Ashleigh Gardner 39; Renuka Singh 2-39, Arundhati  Reddy 3-86, Deepti Sharma 2-75) beat India Women  369 in 47 overs (Smriti Mandhana 125, Harmanpreet Kaur 52, Deepti Sharma 72,Sneh Rana 35; Megan Schutt 2-53, Kim Garth 3-69)  by 43 runs

[Cricinfo]