Hobart, Feb 27 (IANS) Georgia Voll struck a magnificent 101 to power Australia to a commanding five-wicket victory over India in the second ODI at the Bellerive Oval on Friday. The result also meant Australia secured the ODI series and took a 6-4 lead in the multi-format series.

India’s total of 251/9, built on composed half-centuries by Pratika Rawal and Harmanpreet Kaur, always appeared a few runs short of what would be required to truly test Australia on a surface and outfield that offered little assistance to the bowlers, and that’s exactly what happened.

Chasing 252, Australia lost captain Alyssa Healy to Kashvee Gautam in the third over. But that proved to be the only early alarm in an otherwise clinical and dominant run chase that was wrapped up with a staggering 83 balls to spare. Georgia’s 101 came off 83 balls and was laced with 13 fours and a six.

She also shared a commanding 119-run partnership for the second wicket with Phoebe Litchfield, who hit a 62-ball 80 studded with 11 fours and a six. It was something that shifted the momentum decisively in Australia’s favour, as India lacked penetration with the ball and imagination in field settings. Australia did lose a few wickets towards the end of the chase, but managed to get over the line.

Australia didn’t have the best of starts as Alyssa, who hit a fifty in the first ODI in Brisbane, was castled early by Kashvee, who got her first international wicket. But after that, Phoebe launched a stunning barrage of boundaries, including three on the trot off Kranti Gaud.

Against spinners N. Sree Charani and debutant Vaishnavi Sharma, Phoebe was in imperious form, bringing up her half-century off just 42 balls and along the way became the second youngest Australian batter to reach 2,000 international runs, behind only the great Meg Lanning.

But her innings came to an abrupt end when she attempted a lap off Kranti Gaud, but was castled. Georgia, however, had no intention of letting the momentum slip. Having survived a scare on 19 when Kranti put down a tough chance at long-on, the young right-hander shifted through the gears with remarkable ease and composure, with her leg-side shots and boundaries over extra cover catching everyone’s attention.

She brought up her half-century off 44 balls before accelerating further, piercing gaps at will and clearing the ropes with increasing authority, including being dropped on 53 by Smriti. Her century came off just 80 balls in the 31st over, though in a bizarrely nervy fashion – an edge off Kashvee that wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh nearly pouched, with Georgia scrambling for a single to bring up the milestone.

Georgia smiled cheekily as she removed her helmet to acknowledge the applause, knowing full well how close it had come to ending differently. Her innings ended one ball later, caught off a mishit off Kashvee for exactly 101 — her second ODI century, and also the second one against India. In doing so, she became only the third Australian women’s player to record multiple ODI centuries before turning 23, joining Meg, who achieved the feat five times, and Phoebe, who has done it three times.

Beth Mooney provided steady and assured support during her partnership with Georgia, before being dismissed via a successful India review for being caught behind for 31. Annabel Sutherland fell shortly after for 10, holing out off Deepti, who claimed her second wicket of the innings, but by then the match was long beyond India’s reach.

Previously, Harmanpreet top-scored with 54 off 70 balls, while Pratika made 52 off 81 deliveries, though the final total was below-par on a benign surface that offered little assistance to bowlers. For Australia, Annabel Sutherland, Alana King, and Ashleigh Gardner claimed two wickets apiece while keeping the scoring rate firmly in check and never allowing India’s batters to fully cut loose.

The innings followed a familiar pattern of promise and frustration for India – Pratika and Smriti Mandhana laid a solid foundation by putting on 78 runs in the first 16 overs before the middle order wobbled. A late flourish of 73 runs off the final 10 overs, driven largely by Harmanpreet’s composed fifty and a blistering cameo from debutant Vaishnavi Sharma, helped India cross the 250-mark.

Electing to bat first, Pratika and Smriti were eye-catching with their boundaries in the first five overs. Though the last five overs of the Power-play didn’t get any boundary, India ensured to make it a fifth instance in the last seven meetings that Australia failed to take a wicket in the mandatory powerplay.

Smriti Mandhana never looked settled at the crease and was even dropped thrice. But she fell for 31 after she missed an ambitious paddle off Ashleigh Gardner and saw her stumps being shattered, as her 16th fifty-plus stand with Pratika in ODIs came to an end.

After Jemimah Rodrigues edged behind off Annabel, Pratika Rawal looked composed to bring up a well-crafted half-century off 76 balls before being run out in a horrible mix-up with Harmanpreet at the striker’s end.

It proved to be a pivotal moment as Australia clawed back – Amanjot Kaur nicked behind off Nicola Carey, Deepti Sharma holed out to deep mid-wicket, and Richa Ghosh was trapped lbw by Alana, leaving Harmanpreet to carry the innings almost single-handedly. She found good support in bringing India’s innings on track via a 55-run stand with Kashvee, who made 25 off 34 balls, before being castled by Ashleigh.

The India captain rose to the occasion to bring up her half-century off 66 balls before falling for 54 off 70 deliveries, caught by cover-point off Megan Schutt with just an over remaining. Vaishnavi then provided the late impetus India needed by launching a series of two boundaries in the final over to lift the total past 250, which was easily hunted down by Georgia and Phoebe.

Brief scores:

India 251/9 in 50 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 54, Pratika Rawal 52; Ashleigh Gardner 2-39, Alana King 2-41) lost to Australia 252/5 in 36.1 overs (Georgia Voll 101, Phoebe Litchfield 80; Deepti Sharma 2-32, Kashvee Gautam 2-47) by five wickets

–IANS

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