Bolton scores 101* as Aussies win big

Vadodra: Riding on opener Nicole Bolton’s hundred and sterling work by their spinners Australia beat the Indian women by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series at Reliance Stadium in Vadodara on Monday. The visitors bowled out India for just 200 runs and chased the target with 17 overs to spare.
India were already without injured pacer Jhulan Goswami and to make matters worse, they suffered another setback as skipper Mithali Raj too had to sit out due to viral fever.
Things looked promising for India in the beginning as openers Poonam Raut and Smriti Mandhana added 38 runs in nine overs. But Smriti mistimed a flighted delivery off spinner Ashleigh Gardener as Aussie skipper Meg Lanning took a simple catch at mid-on. Jemimah Rodrigues too fell soon as she was caught behind off Amanda Wellington. Raut was trapped leg before by Wellington when she was on 37.
India were reduced to 60 for three in 18 overs and forced skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to crawl to 9 off 29 deliveries. Veda Krishnamurty tried to counter attack but Wellington removed her in 31st over leaving India tottering at 110 for six.
Brief Scores: India 200 allout in 50 overs (Poonam Raut 37, Sushma Verma 41, Pooja Vastrakar 51; A Wellington 3-24, J Jonassen 4-30) lost to Australia 202/2 in 32.1 overs (N Bolton 100*, A Healy 38, M Lanning 33, E Perry 25*)