On a day when the Indian top order finally found form, its old nemesis Alyssa Healy found a way to be the thorn in the side yet again. Her impeccably paced 142 helped Australia chase down a 331-run target, the highest in W-ODI history, to hand India its second consecutive defeat at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Sunday.
It took the pressure of the occasion to draw out Smriti Mandhana’s (80) appetite for runs. She deftly anchored India’s start after being put in to bat. Fifties for her and Pratika Rawal (75) put the defending champion under early pressure.
Harleen Deol and Harmanpreet Kaur tried to maintain the tempo, but it was an effort laced with a mismatched scoring rate and some heart-stoppingly shoddy running to boot.
When they fell, Jemimah Rodrigues and a promoted Richa Ghosh lit up the wagon wheel like the night sky on Diwali to help India set its highest total in World Cup history.
HIGHLIGHTS: India vs Australia, Women’s World Cup 2025
Australia had never needed to chase 300-plus in ODIs until this fixture. Healy, who has been back in the dugout inside the PowerPlay in every match this World Cup, commanded nearly 39 overs of the chase with help from Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner.
Beth Mooney and birthday girl Annabel Sutherland – whose fifer helped Australia slash at least 20 runs from India’s total – were dismissed cheaply. It was a phase of play where local favourite Shree Charani was particularly impressive, frustrating the opposition by stifling the run flow, picking up three wickets for her efforts.
However, Healy stuck in and brought up her first century as the skipper. Only a magnificent effort from Sneh Rana at point ended her stay in the middle, by which time the asking rate fell below six.
Despite a slew of wickets falling in the end, Perry – who had briefly retired hurt due to cramps – and Kim Garth saw the side through. Perry fittingly sealed the nail-biting fixture with a six down the ground.
Minutes later, a sudden but brief shower sent everyone running for shelter. But for the Indian dugout, Australia dampening their knockout hopes will sting more.
Published on Oct 12, 2025
