50 overs India 282 for 8 (Rodrigues 82, Vastrakar 62*, Bhatia 49, Wareham 2-55, Gardner 2-63) vs Australia
India lost Shafali early in the third over to the returning Darcie Brown, who got a length delivery to nip back in from around off and disturb the stumps. Richa Ghosh, trying to make use of the field restrictions in the first ten overs, came in at No.3 and made 21 off 20 balls before falling to Annabel Sutherland. It took a stunning catch from Brown at short fine leg to dismiss Harmanpreet Kaur soon after, and India were 57 for 3 in 13 overs. Bhatia, playing her fourth ODI of the year, hit seven fours in her 64-ball knock before top-edging a sweep off a full toss from Georgia Wareham.
From there on, it was Rodrigues and Vastrakar who made sure India’s run rate did not drop below five. Rodrigues was visibly wilting in the heat, but she ran hard, swept hard and drove through covers to notch up her fifth fifty in her 25th ODI. After sharing 38, 39 and 45 runs with Bhatia, Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur respectively, she found Vastrakar’s help to put on 68 runs – the only fifty-plus partnership of the innings – for the eighth wicket.
But India saved the best for the last phase as they accumulated 82 runs in the final ten overs.
Rodrigues’ 77-ball stay consisted of seven fours while Vastrakar hit seven fours and two sixes in her 46-ball knock. After Rodrigues’ dismissal in the 47th over, Vastrakar blasted her way to fourth ODI fifty off 39 balls in the penultimate over.
For Australia, Wareham and Ashleigh Gardner shared four wickets between them.
