Key events
37th over: Australia 206-3 (Sutherland 40, Gardner 2) Ash Gardner away quickly with a pull for two, and that’s the over. Nine runs to win.
WICKET! Mooney c Mandhana b Deepti 76, Australia 204-4
Too late to make a difference, but Mooney gets to enjoy an ovation of her own on the way off, 76 off 79 balls is a classic Beth Mooney kind of score, especially at AB Field in Queensland. Chips the ball to cover.
36th over: Australia 202-3 (Mooney 75, Sutherland 39) Verma the bowler now, and it’s the same result: Sutherland, off drive, four. Belts that one, Deepti dives but it was too straight. Mooney just keeps tucking and running. 13 to get.
35th over: Australia 193-3 (Mooney 71, Sutherland 34) Perfect cover drive from Mooney, waits for Deepti’s delivery to drop and then drills it between the fielders. A couple of twos for Sutherland, deflecting balls behind the wicket, then a bad misfield from Verma, the ball is smacked at her at mid-off, but she looks up to see whether the batters are running, and lets it between her feet for four more. The over goes for 13.
34th over: Australia 180-3 (Mooney 66, Sutherland 26) They’re persisting with Verma, who hasn’t gone for many runs, to be fair. A couple to cover, a raced single. Drinks.
33rd over: Australia 177-3 (Mooney 63, Sutherland 26) Kashvee Gautam back with seam, but Mooney is running smoothly now and punts another boundary down the ground. Only 38 more to win.
32nd over: Australia 169-3 (Mooney 57, Sutherland 23) Verma continues, very slow, loopy, milked. Six from it.
Half century! Beth Mooney 54 from 58 balls
31st over: Australia 163-3 (Mooney 55, Sutherland 19) Fine style to raise the fifty, as Mooney dances and lofts once more, sending Charani over the rope straight down the ground. Her 20th fifty in one-day cricket, to go with 27 in T20s and four in Tests, for 51 of them all up for Australia.
30th over: Australia 153-3 (Mooney 48, Sutherland 17) Dreadful cricket all round there. Verma’s bowling isn’t much to write about, to begin with. Sutherland responds by lumping a pull shot straight to deep midwicket. Then Kashvee drops the standard catch. They’re not much of a chance to change this game, India, but that might have given them an opening.
29th over: Australia 151-3 (Mooney 47, Sutherland 16) Nice shot from Sutherland, a timed late cut as Renuka Singh comes back, then Mooney gets down on one knee and lifts the ball from leg stump over backward square. Singles from the other deliveries, a dozen from the over, and they only need 64 to win from 21 overs.
28th over: Australia 139-3 (Mooney 41, Sutherland 10) Oooh, missed chance! Rodrigues is one of the best fielders for India but she loses this ball. It’s low, not sure if it would have had sky or a grandstand behind it. Mooney cuts, the ball is dying as it nears point, but Rodrigues is moving to her left and then realises too late that the ball is swerving to her right and dipping. She probably thought it was hit more cleanly. It drops to the turf, and skittles the fielder for two runs. Then Sutherland belts a full toss through leg for four.
27th over: Australia 131-3 (Mooney 38, Sutherland 5) No review from India as Charani hits Mooney on the back leg, though ball-tracking would have shown it going over. One where the projection shows more bounce than the human brain would imagine. Four singles from the over, Australia collating a score with ease.
26th over: Australia 127-3 (Mooney 36, Sutherland 3) Pretty good over from Gaud, bowling straight and at a length that Mooney can’t do much with. Mooney happy to wait. Time and overs on Australia’s side.
25th over: Australia 126-3 (Mooney 36, Sutherland 2) Lovely from Mooney, charges Charani, realises she has to wait a moment longer for the ball to arrive, and drops in that pause before going through with a flowing drive past mid on for four.
24th over: Australia 121-3 (Mooney 32, Sutherland 1) That’s the thing about this Australian team, though. You get rid of one quality batter and another one walks out. Annabel Sutherland is ready to do her bit.
WICKET! Healy c Rodrigues b Gaud 50, Australia 119-3
Kranti Gaud now, who lost her line early, and gets uppercut by Mooney to start this over, but only for one. That brings Healy onto strike, and she drills her cut shot to backward point! Rodrigues has to leap to get hands to that one, but reels it in.
Half century! Alyssa Healy 50 from 69 balls
23rd over: Australia 118-2 (Healy 50, Mooney 31) She’s done this so many times now. Another milestone for Healy, her 19th fifty in one-day cricket. A little cut shot for one, to cover. Mooney decides to do the celebrating herself, skipping down at Deepti to loft her for six, dead straight.
22nd over: Australia 109-2 (Healy 49, Mooney 23) Another good shot from Mooney, whips Kashvee over square leg and it takes a good dive to save two runs.
21st over: Australia 105-2 (Healy 48, Mooney 20) Charani again, and that’s enough quiet respect: Healy goes back and clouts her pull shot over long on for four. Sharp singles to follow, to cover and they both dash, good understanding to eliminate the risk.
20th over: Australia 99-2 (Healy 43, Mooney 19) Kashvee Gautam returns, and Mooney welcomes the pace by smoking her cut through backward point for four. Not a carve, just places the bat there and times it so well that she beats the sweeper. Lifts her next ball over the infield on the off side for one. The singles follow, then a tiny tickle through fine leg for four more! Healy’s pull gets the faintest bottom edge to redirect the ball, and that’s enough.
19th over: Australia 88-2 (Healy 38, Mooney 13) Charani is back after the brief Verma experiment, and the Australians keep cutting her from the height of the stumps. Three singles, that’s 2 for 11 from four for Charani.
18th over: Australia 85-2 (Healy 37, Mooney 11) A hop, skip, and jump for Healy, down the pitch to loft Deepti over long on, and Kranti Gaud makes a meal of the fielding, thinking about using her foot, then going down to ground level but missing the ball. Four.
17th over: Australia 79-2 (Healy 32, Mooney 10) Hmmm, Shafali Verma on for a trundle. It worked in the World Cup final, but I’m not convinced she’s the option here. A part-time one, really. Healy cracks a cut for two, then one. Mooney finds one easily through point. Drinks.
16th over: Australia 74-2 (Healy 28, Mooney 9) A minor collision in the deep, Amanjot and… was that Kashvee? Out sweeping on the leg side, Healy also sweeps Deepti into the gap between them, and they bump into each other but don’t lose the ball, two runs. Mooney gets strike and adds a couple with her square drive. Australia back in control right now despite those two wickets.
15th over: Australia 69-2 (Healy 25, Mooney 7) Another milestone for Mooney, with her 7000th career run for Australia across formats. Only Healy, Perry, Lanning ahead of her. She deserves to be classed with those three, even classed above them in some respects. Still the most important player in this Australian team, for mine. The singles flow from Charani.
14th over: Australia 65-2 (Healy 23, Mooney 5) Big sweep shot from Healy, in the air past Rodrigues who dives for it but is nowhere near big enough to reach that. Just the one run. Mooney is finding the singles so easily, using her feet to get access to the off side, to make balls shorter than they are, and use her forcing cut stroke.
13th over: Australia 61-2 (Healy 21, Mooney 3) Charani to Mooney, happy to cut to cover and run, Healy beating the throw from Amanjot. That’s 3000 ODI runs for Mooney.
12th over: Australia 58-2 (Healy 19, Mooney 1) All spin now, with Deepti Sharma on for an over of off-breaks, two runs from it.
11th over: Australia 56-2 (Healy 19, Mooney 1) No hat-trick for Charani – Beth Mooney would have to be the last player in the world who you’d want to bowl to on a hat-trick. Unflappable. Calmly blocks that ball, then drives a single from her next to start her night.
WICKET! Voll c Mandhana b Charani 0, Australia 55-2
Gone first ball! Batting in Perry’s spot, but batting in an un-Perry-like way, chipping a drive to cover first ball for the fielder to dive forward. Shree Charani is on a hat-trick.
WICKET! Litchfield st Ghosh b Charani 32, Australia 55-1
The left-arm spinner was sensational at the World Cup, and Shree Charani strikes here! Tosses it up, Litchfield jumps out of her crease and launches a big straight drive, but is done in the air. The ball clips her pocket which slows it down, increasing the degree of difficulty for Ghosh who has to wait for that ball before double-fisting it into the stumps. Litchfield almost has time to get back, but not quite.
10th over: Australia 55-0 (Healy 18, Litchfield 32) A few leg byes in that over from Kashvee, Australia ticking along.
9th over: Australia 49-0 (Healy 15, Litchfield 31) Renuka wants to keep Healy pinned on strike, and will be frustrated that an inside edge squeezes away for a run. That allows Litchfield to open up the scoring, a lovely square drive that beats the fielder in the deep, then another brace that doesn’t. Australia a quarter of the way there in quick time.
8th over: Australia 42-0 (Healy 14, Litchfield 25) Kashvee Gautam replaces Kranti, similar right-arm seam, does better though: beats a wild drive from Litchfield on the outside edge, then nicks the inside edge past the stumps. It costs three runs but nearly got the wicket.
7th over: Australia 37-0 (Healy 12, Litchfield 22) Close review! Not a bad shout for India, Renuka Singh shaping the ball in, and with Richa Ghosh coming up to the stumps, Healy has to move her stance back into her crease. The ball hits her above the knee roll, but that’s less often a factor in women’s cricket where a lot of players are shorter, and Healy is certainly one of them. She’s given not out, though the projection shows it might have been taking both bails off. Umpire’s call.
A few balls later, dropped catch. A very tough one for the keeper standing up. An inside edge that lets Healy steal a single, it smacks into Ghosh’s gloves but ricochets. No, scratch that, the umpire calls a bye. The only score from the over.
6th over: Australia 36-0 (Healy 12, Litchfield 22) The young Aussie opener keeps taking down the young Indian opening bowler. Sizing her up by now, belts one boundary with a pick-up shot over midwicket, then smacks another leg-side ball behind square. She’s 22 off 16, while Healy is starting more slowly, having faced 22 balls.
4th over: Australia 27-0 (Healy 12, Litchfield 13) Square punch from Litchfield for four! She has two catchers waiting behind point, but hits it along the paint and finds the rope, then gets a leg-side ball and picks it up behind square, four more as Kranti Gaud struggles for line.
5th over: Australia 27-0 (Healy 12, Litchfield 14) Very tidy over from Renuka Singh Thakur, just a Litchfield single off it.
3rd over: Australia 17-0 (Healy 11, Litchfield 4) Healy batting out of her crease to Renuka, looking to cut down swing, and a drive back has a touch of leading edge about it, not far from the bowler’s outstretched hand. Stopped at mid off, though. Then beats the outside edge with one that doesn’t swing, as Healy drives. Then another leading edge! This one goes about 160 degrees around the clock face, skewing through a vacant slip. Healy gets a couple, then lifts a clunky pull shot over square leg for one, just up and other to dink it away. Litchfield, starved of the strike, gallops down to what is only her fourth ball and slices the drive away over backward point for four.
2nd over: Australia 9-0 (Healy 8, Litchfield 0) Kranti Gaud stats well, aside from a leg-side wide to the left-hander. That’s after Healy takes four balls to get off strike, hard to score from a tight line around off stump.
1st over: Australia 7-0 (Healy 7, Litchfield 0) Gets going with a nice drive! Healy facing the bowling of Renuka Singh Thakur, who is getting a tiny bit of shape but an overpitched ball is driven just to the leg side of the other set of stumps, away for four. A two and a single follow.
The major story today is that Alyssa Healy’s comes into the reckoning for her last series for Australia, having sat out the T20 component. She’ll have these three ODIs, then the Test, fitness permitting.
Geoff Lemon
Thank you, Jonathan PH. A very level man who is neither acidic or basic. That’s a pretty modest score for India to defend, 214. It’s also Victor Trumper’s highest Test score.
Part of a satisfying little sequence, in fact. Start with 213, which is the score from the Egbaston tied semi-final in 1999, and Ellyse Perry’s Test best at North Sydney, then 214 for Trumper, 215 for Steve Smith at Lord’s, and 216 for Clarrie Grimmett’s career wicket tally.
That’s your game of Nerd Pledge for the day, let’s watch some cricket.
Jonathan Howcroft
Four points to two down in the multi-format series, there is plenty of pressure on Australia despite the modest run-chase ahead of them. To see if they can even the ledger it’s over to Geoff Lemon.
India 214
After winning the toss India will be disappointed to have only reached 214. At times throughout the afternoon even a total that modest looked improbable but some powerful late hitting from Kashvee Gautam has given the world champions something to defend
The extra bounce of the Allan Border Field pitch did for a succession of Indian batters, many of whom were caught top-edging or leading-edging, especially from sweep shots. One such was Smriti Mandahana who top scored with 58. She was fortunate to reach double figures after edging the new ball repeatedly towards the slip cordon, bu once into her stride she looked set for a big score until she gifted Tahlia McGrath her only wicket of the day.
McGrath was one of seven Australian bowlers called upon by Alyssa Healy, six of whom took wickets. Ash Gardner’s three was the most, but the damage was done early by the recalled Megan Schutt, and in the middle by the majestic Alana King.
In case you missed it earlier, Australia are without both Ellyse Perry and Kim Garth for the ODI portion of this series due to quad injuries. Schutt was one of the players to seize their opportunity with a late call-up, Georgia Voll the other, taking three excellent catches in the outer.
WICKET! Gautam run out (Gardner) 43 (India 214)
Hmmm, perhaps Gautam got caught up in the moment of stepping to leg and reflex hooking a Sutherland slower ball bouncer. She takes a single from the opening delivery of the over, inviting India’s No 11 to survive five deliveries. She survives two handily, but on the second the ball is hit straight to Gardner at mid-on. She spots Gautam miles out of her ground backing up and calmly underarms a direct hit to end the innings.
48th over: India 212-9 (Gautam 41, Renuka 0) What has Gautam got in these final throes? A massive six over cow corner is what! Bosh! Then she pilfers a couple of byes as she keeps control of the strike. A mistimed pull lands safely, giving Renuka just one ball to defend – which she does. India continue into the 49th over.
47th over: India 203-9 (Gautam 35, Renuka 0) Just two singles and the wicket from Schutt’s ninth over.
WICKET! Charani c Voll b Schutt 2 (India 203-9)
Schutt does her thing and Charani slaps a lusty blow into the safe hands of Voll on the midwicket fence. Her catching has been a real highlight of the afternoon.
46th over: India 201-8 (Gautam 34, Charani 1) Charani, like Gaud before her, doesn’t seem interested in simply rotating strike to bring the set batter to the crease. Finally Gautam does gets back on strike and immediately slog-sweeps Gardner for four.
WICKET! Gaud c Molineux b Gardner 2 (India 196-8)
Gaud’s grisly ten ball stay ends attempting another massive hoick, this time top-edging to Molineux at short third. Gardner has three.