BRISBANE: After clouting
Megan Schutt for consecutive boundaries,
Smriti Mandhana belatedly poked feebly at a short delivery in the channel from the Australian pacer, only to feather an edge which
Beth Mooney gloved.
Mandhana (8) trudged back to the dressing room, disappointment written all over, a wicket that marked the beginning of the end of a dismal Indian performance at the Allan Border Field here on Thursday. Eyeing their first away series win against Australia, India began disastrously, never recovered and crashed to a five-wicket loss in the opening fixture of a three match series.
On a sunny afternoon, the toss was the only thing skipper
Harmanpreet Kaur called right. The batters didn't quite ram home the advantage of taking first strike on a batting-friendly surface. The Amol Muzumdar-coached team showed little in terms of application and intent and were bowled out for a mere 100 in 34.2 overs.
As collapses go, it was heap, although saved somewhat by Jemimah Rodrigues' laboured 23 (42 balls). Australia, playing their first series after their shock eight-wicket loss to South Africa in the T20 World Cup semifinal in October, suffered a mini collapse but debutant Georgia Voll's unbeaten 42-ball 46 after pacer's Megan Schutt's career best 5/19 saw the home team through with 202 balls to spare.
This was India's second lowest total in the format after their 79 against the same opposition in 2012. Lack of rhythm was the best way to describe India's erring batting line-up which was undone in quick time by Schutt's outswingers.
With Kim Garth (1/20) keeping it tight at the other end, the 31-year-old Schutt sent back openers Mandhana and Priya Punia (3) by the seventh over. The fact that barring Mandhana's strike rate of 80, none of the others managed a strike rate above 60. Australia got off to a flyer with the opening pair of Phoebe Litchfield (35) and Voll putting on 48 from 35 balls.
Pacer Renuka Singh (3/45) triggered a mini-collapse and young leggie Priya Mishra (2/11) bowled an impressive two-over spell, but given the measly target, all they managed was to delay the inevitable.
Brief scores: India:100 all out in 34.2 overs (Jemimah 23; Megan Schutt 5-19) lost to Australia: 101/5 in 16.2 overs (Phoebe Litchhfield 35, Georgia Voll 46 n.o; Renuka Singh 3-45, Priya Mishra 2-11)
(The writer is in Brisbane for ABC-International Development's cricket commentary and mojo program)Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search.
Catch Lovlina Borgohain's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 5. Watch HereManuja Veerappa, Senior Assistant Editor at The Times of India, h...
Read MoreManuja Veerappa, Senior Assistant Editor at The Times of India, has dedicated over half of her 22-year journalism career to the publication. Specializing in
cricket and hockey, she has covered major sporting events including World Cups, the Commonwealth Games, and world championships in billiards and snooker.
Known for her compelling human-interest stories, she has traveled extensively across Karnataka to spotlight untold talent and their journeys. An internationally
published sportswriter and former national-level hockey player for Karnataka, Manuja is a true-blue Bengalurean who also writes on the city’s culture and life, blending deep reporting with a passion for storytelling.
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