Key events
28th over: India 177-1 (Deol 13, Pratika 73)
King’s second over now and the batters are paying her a lot of respect. They appear to be looking more for singles and opportunities to turn the strike over than the aggression they were showing against Molineux. Pratika finds the boundary, but it’s through a streaky edge, rather than a decisive shot.
27th over: India 171-1 (Deol 12, Pratika 68)
Molineux nearly picks up a second wicket that looks exactly the same as the first, but the ball falls safely this time. India have lost some of their momentum after that wicket, but they turn the strike over consistently to start the over and are rewarded when Deol finds a ball she likes and drives it straight down the ground for six.
26th over: India 156-1 (Deol 4, Pratika 65)
At last, we have King coming into the attack! Deol quickly gets herself off strike, which is exactly what I would do if I had to face King. She’s getting some great turn out of this pitch and making it quite uncomfortable for the batters. Pratika finishes the over with a bit of aggression, clearing the infield and running two.
25th over: India 156-1 (Deol 1, Pratika 63)
Interesting decision here from Healy, giving Molineux another over. However, it turns out to be a good decision, with the key wicket of Smriti to break the opening partnership. Deol starts her innings watchfully, with a couple of defensive shots, before getting off the mark with a single.
WICKET! Smriti c Litchfield b Molineux 80 (India 155-1)
Just when I was doubting Healy’s captaincy, she proves me wrong and Molineux gets the key breakthrough, luring Smriti into a false shot, that’s easily caught by Litchfield in the deep.
24th over: India 153-0 (Smriti 79, Pratika 63)
Smriti smashes another one to start McGrath’s over – she doesn’t quite middle it, but it lands over the heads of two chasing Australian fielders. A couple of balls later, she smashes it to the boundary again. Perry is there to try to cut it off, but she’s pushed right up on the rope and can’t let go of the ball before grounding her foot over the line and it’s six. India bring up their 150 with a straight drive past McGrath for four from Smriti’s bat once again.
23rd over: India 137-0 (Smriti 69, Pratika 58)
This is the first time this tournament I’ve seen Australia really rattled in their bowling innings. Molineux is back for her second spell and her first ball is very wide, so wide that she’ll have to bowl it again. The second is marginally less wide and she gets away with a dot. Smriti finally gets one she can hit and she hits it all the way to the boundary. Molineux panics a bit and bowls another wide. It’s not her finest hour. I’m wondering if Healy has remembered Alana King is in the team?
22nd over: India 128-0 (Smriti 63, Pratika 57)
McGrath continues, but there’s an increasing confidence to the batters now and Pratika start with a boundary and then has some luck go her way with four leg byes.
21st over: India 118-0 (Smriti 62, Pratika 52)
Garth resumes her second spell, hoping for a breakthrough. Her first ball is very good, but on the second, Pratika brings up her 50 with a glorious straight drive down the ground – she holds the pose knowing there’s no need to run on that one. Pratika hasn’t been scoring at as fast a rate as Smriti, but she’s done her job in building a strong platform for her team. Smriti finishes the over with a swashbuckling six.
20th over: India 107-0 (Smriti 56, Pratika 47)
An email from Phil Withall as we begin McGrath’s second over.
Evening Megan,
This match is already interestingly poised. India have a quite confidence about them, comfortable in their ability to accumulate, to build pressure and add a psychological edge. Australia will, as always, back themselves. This will be a fascinating match, with an endless number of twists likely to unfold. Love it.
Agreed Phil, it has been sensational to watch so far. The composure of these Indian openers has been a highlight – the Australian bowling has been good for the most part, they are just finding ways to score off the good balls and punishing the bad balls when they come. McGrath bowls a nice, tight over to give Australia a bit more of a foothold in the game.
19th over: India 105-0 (Smriti 55, Pratika 46)
Garth returns after a good opening spell and on the first ball, Smriti brings up her half-century for real this time and the crowd is overjoyed. She has gone at a decent pace, bringing up the 50 from 46 balls. Pratika wants to get in on the action as well, with a slog past deep mid wicket for four, followed by a single to bring up the 100 runs for India. Mandhana finishes with another four and single to keep the run rate climbing.
18th over: India 94-0 (Smriti 49, Pratika 41)
We’re back from drinks and Tahlia McGrath is bowling her first over of the match – she hasn’t been used much as a bowler in recent times, but she certainly has the ability to bowl uncomfortable lengths and pick up wickets. There’s a huge cheer from the crowd when they think Smriti has reached her half-century, but the umpire rules a wide and that there was no bat on it, so they have to wait a little longer. McGrath creates a chance next ball, forcing Pratika to lob one up in the air. King sprints in and dives desperately, but can’t quite reach the ball before it drops.
17th over: India 90-0 (Smriti 49, Pratika 40)
Sutherland continues and even she is starting to get hit around a bit. However, she is bowling well to her field and while the batters are hitting good shots and finding space, they’re being cut off before the boundary. She swings momentum back in her favour with another one of those wider balls she’s been using so effectively. But then she straightens up again and Pratika is a ready for her and pulls it beautifully for four. Drinks are on the field now.
16th over: India 82-0 (Smriti 47, Pratika 34)
A long chat between Gardner and Healy before this over gets underway. The first ball to Smriti is hit uppishly, but it’s done with great control through the covers and flies to the boundary for four. Gardner tightens her line and is rewarded with a couple of dots balls, but then she bowls a very loose delivery that Smriti plays very late and gets through the covers (again) for a boundary (again). She’s looking very strong and in control here.
15th over: India 73-0 (Smriti 38, Pratika 34)
Pratika on strike to Sutherland and she works the first ball to fine leg – a good shot against a good ball. It’s the kind of moment that makes all the parents of both teams clap and say “good cricket everyone” when it happens in Under 11s. Sutherland is varying her line really nicely, mostly bowling straight, but every so often mixing it up with a wider ball. She’s keeping a nice, full length all the while, so it’s hard for the batters to get her away.
14th over: India 71-0 (Smriti 37, Pratika 33)
Gardner starts her fourth over and Smriti laps the first ball for four – some nice innovation there. Healy has a big appeal for caught behind, but Gardner doesn’t think Smriti has hit it and they don’t review. Which turns out to be a good decision, as we see on ultraedge that indeed it has missed the outside edge.
13th over: India 65-0 (Smriti 32, Pratika 32)
Sutherland continues her spell and her first ball is a very nice one, full and straight and Pratika can’t do anything but block it. She then varies her line and sends one a little wider, so Pratika has to reach for it. It’s smart bowling, setting herself up to take a wicket and building the dot ball pressure. She nearly gets the wicket, but Gardner comes in too far and mistimes her dive, meaning she misses the catch and the ball sails to the boundary.
12th over: India 61-0 (Smriti 32, Pratika 28)
Gardner comes on from the other end now, an aggressive move looking to pick up a wicket and break this partnership. She does a job in building up the dot ball pressure, but she can’t lure the batters into a trap just yet.
11th over: India 60-0 (Smriti 32, Pratika 27)
Sutherland comes on for her first over. It’s her birthday today – can she do a Peter Siddle and get a hat trick on her birthday? Her teammates will be hoping so. She throws in a short ball that looks quite nice, but the umpires rule it’s a wide so she’ll have to bowl it again. Aside from that, it’s a very nice start to the over from her, beating the bat consistently. She gives away a run through a Molinuex misfield, but overall it’s a very tight over, just those two runs from it.
10th over: India 58-0 (Smriti 32, Pratika 26)
Molineux starts her second over after a long chat with Healy, but Smriti again starts the over with a four, finding the gap and beating Sutherland to the boundary at deep point. Molineux finds a tighter line and adjusts the field to challenge Smriti to play more dangerously if she wants to score runs. That’s the end of the powerplay now.
9th over: India 52-0 (Smriti 26, Pratika 26)
Another over from Gardner and there’s a cry of “catch it” from the first two balls. The first is more of desperation than anything, but on the second, McGrath gets her fingertips to it in a diving effort, but can’t stop it going for four. Pratika then gets her first six of the match, driving down the field beautifully.
8th over: India 42-0 (Smriti 26, Pratika 16)
Spin from the other end as well with the left-arm orthodox Molineux coming on for her first over. Mandhana takes quite a liking to her and starts with a slog for four, followed up a couple of balls later playing the same shot for six. This is the first hint of aggression we’ve seen from the Indian openers and it’s quite a big hint! Smriti finishes the over with another four – definitely their most productive of the match so far!
7th over: India 26-0 (Smriti 11, Pratika 15)
We get our first over of spin, with Gardner here to bowl her right arm off spin. Smriti gets the first run of the over courtesy of an uncharacteristic misfield from Litchfield. But Gardner keeps up the pressure the Australian bowlers are building.
6th over: India 23-0 (Smriti 9, Pratika 14)
Pratika is piercing through the infield with relative ease at the moment, finding runs even when she can’t quite find the boundary. Schutt has such a look of disappointment on her face even when she only gives away a single – you can see how much this means to her to have a strong performance here. It’s a tight over from her, just the 2 runs from it.
5th over: India 21-0 (Smriti 8, Pratika 13)
Garth continues her spell and Smriti starts with a single that the crowd reacts to as if it was a match-winning boundary. Love this enthusiasm! They’re rewarded with a boundary next ball – Pratika gets her feet moving early and flicks one off her pads to send it sailing down to the toblerone. Garth tightens up her line and keeps the scoring to a minimum for the rest of the over.
4th over: India 15-0 (Smriti 7, Pratika 8)
Another over from Schutt, and Pratika starts it with a nice cover drive, but there’s a fielder to cut it off before it gets near the boundary and she has to settle for a single. Healy comes up to the stumps to put a bit more pressure on the batters, but Pratika isn’t bothered, she finds a gap between mid-on and mid-wicket for her first boundary of the match.
3rd over: India 9-0 (Smriti 6, Pratika 3)
The roar of the crowd is so intense every time the ball gets past the infield. If an Indian player hits a six, the place may well explode! Garth bowls her second over and she continues to hit that full, straight length. She varies it slightly with a wide ball almost creates a chance when she gets Pratika reaching and there’s some air under the ball, but it falls safely. Pratika gets off strike with a pull shot late in the over to give Smriti the last ball, but she just plays it defensively.
2nd over: India 7-0 (Smriti 5, Pratika 2)
Schutt bowls her first over of the match, with Pratika back on strike. The first ball is hit back past her, but there’s cover there and it’s just a dot. Schutt is bowling a very full length, that Pratika is defending comfortably, but she could easily become frustrated if she has to keep defending and can’t score runs. Eventually she find a gap and rotates the strike and Smriti also finds a single the following ball.
1st over: India 5-0 (Smriti 4, Pratika 1)
Garth opens the bowling for Australia, with Pratika taking strike to start the match. She thinks she might have snuck the first ball past the infield, but it’s saved by a diving Alana King. Garth starts with full, straight bowling, really targeting the stumps at the start of this game. Pratika gets off the mark with a back foot punch that flies towards the boundary, but is cut off for just a single. Smriti starts her innings watchfully with a couple of defensive shots. On the final ball of the over, Garth misses her line a little and Smriti drives one past point for four.
The teams are on the field now and national anthems are underway. Not long until the first ball is bowled.
Maddy has also sent an email, she is watching this match with plenty of anticipation!
Evening Megan!
Hope this is a ripper of a game tonight. Will be so very interesting to see how these teams match up. Such a relief the weather will let it play out.
I think the biggest test for the Aussies will be if the top order can build good partnerships and avoid collapses. Especially important in front of a capacity crowd!
An email from Guy Hornsby has hit my inbox with the subject line Bring it on
Great day for the game, and glad they’re not playing in my fog-bound Manchester. This should be fascinating. I think India are under the greater pressure here, as hosts with all the expectations that come with that. Australia are just so ridiculously talented that it’s hard to see them falling over again like they did against Pakistan, but this world cup seems to have reversed the periods where batting is easier, so it’s really close to call.
I agree Guy, on paper you’d think Australia have got this one under control, but as we all know, cricket games aren’t played on paper. Anything could happen here and let’s hope lots of excitement does!
Key for both teams today will be the opening pair getting things off to a good start. None of the four openers in today’s game have racked up the kind of score they would have liked to have so far this tournament. They will be looking to create a strong platform rather than relying on relying on the middle order or the tail to save the day for them.
Just one change to the Australian team – as we suspected, Molineux has come into the XI for this match, with Wareham missing out. India meanwhile, are unchanged from their loss to South Africa, opting to back that team to turn things around and put on a match-winning performance.
India XI
1. Smriti Mandhana
2. Pratika Rawal
3. Harleen Deol
4. Harmanpreet Kaur (c)
5. Jemimah Rodrigues
6. Richa Ghosh (wk)
7. Deepti Sharma
8. Amanjot Kaur
9. Sneh Rana
10. Kranti Goud
11. Sree Charani
Australia XI
1. Alyssa Healy (c, wk)
2. Phoebe Litchfield
3. Ellyse Perry
4. Beth Mooney
5. Annabel Sutherland
6. Ash Gardner
7. Tahlia McGrath
8. Sophie Molineux
9. Alana King
10. Kim Garth
11. Megan Schutt
Australia won the toss and elected to bowl
Alyssa Healy was very quick to say they would bowl here, it was clearly a toss they really wanted to win. She cited the dewy conditions as the main reason for the decision.
A reminder that you can email me any thoughts on the game, predictions for the tournament, or particularly compelling conspiracy theories and I will do my best to share them with the OBO family following along around the world. You can find the link at the top of the page.
If you’re keen to catch up on Australia’s last game before this one begins, you can re-live Beth Mooney’s rescue mission here:
I’m hearing from the ground that it’s a beautiful, sunny day in Visakhapatnam, so no fears of a repeat of the Sri Lanka game for the Australians. Sophie Molineux has also been spotted warming up, so it looks like she will come into the match day squad. The toss is imminent, so we’ll have full team lists for you before too long!
Preamble
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Megan Maurice
Hello and welcome to a huge game in this Cricket World Cup! The as-yet undefeated Australia against tournament hosts India – this has been a highly anticipated clash. While both teams probably should have sailed through fairly well unchallenged so far, it hasn’t been the smoothest start for either team.
While Australia haven’t yet lost a game, a washout against Sri Lanka has proved frustrating for their ladder position. They also suffered a fairly serious batting collapse against Pakistan and if it wasn’t for Beth Mooney – ably assisted by Alana King – they may have been dealt a huge upset defeat.
Meanwhile, India were defeated by South Africa on Thursday, bowled out in the final over for 251, took some early wickets to put themselves back in the game and then watched on in despair as as steady 70 from Laura Wolvaardt and a flamboyant 84 from Nadine de Klerk dragged South Africa over the line. It was a tough blow for India, who would have been expecting the win after seeing South Africa all out for 69 against England in their opening match.
So there is a sense of desperation in this match for both teams. Australia will want to put their batting woes behind them and do everything they can to claw back a position at the top of the ladder after their washout. And India will be pushing for a win to reassert their dominance in front of a home crowd.
Speaking of the crowd, it is apparently a sell out today at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, so expect some very vocal support when India scores runs or takes a wicket and the kind of silence you didn’t think possible from a crowd of people that large when Australia counters.
It’s sure to be a fascinating match, so let’s get into it!
