It was quite shocking to see the amount of domination Australian women’s cricket team had against India, and a good part of that was attributed to Ditch Perry and Georgia Voll who both notched up centuries and helped the team score its highest ever score in women’s ODI which bowled India over in a completely different fashion as well as direction. To say India had a hard time dealing with that is an understatement.
A Topsy Turvy Australian Side
The Australian Perry side opted to bat first after winning the toss and in hindsight that proved to be an excellent decision. The rest is history as the opening pair saw Ellyse Perry coming out and absolutely ripping the Indian bowler’s ability apart considering all her past experiences. Even at that point in time though, Perry did maintain her grace. To paraphrase, it is Perry, an all rounded, who enjoyed Picture Over style inning against the Indian bowlers including an impressive century intoxicated with strength, accuracy, and grace. All in all, her innings were significant in setting the platform for building a commanding total which involved both hand and bat playing an integral role in combination of stroke play and placement.
But everything from the earlier match paled in comparison to Georgia Voll’s striking performances as she brought up 100 runs. There has to be an amazing feeling while bringing up a maiden ODI century even more so at the young age of twenty but Voll demonstrated extreme calmness as she and Perry went out to create events that stood the test of time. And With that voll and perry formed one of the most dangerous pair of modern women cricket.
India’s Bowling Woes
It has to be said that the top Indian Womens bowlers players such as Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami were expected to counter every attack but in reality they hardly were able to string in the first initiation against subsequent attacks.
Australian batsmen made the most of the easy pitch and did not spare the wide and short balls. India’s spinners, generally a very strong weapon, couldn’t stem the flow of runs either. This led to a rather uncomfortable performance for the Indian team.
A well-known bowler Deepti Sharma who is known to be able to change the tide of a match during the middle overs could not manage to get many wickets. Meanwhile the pace department also struggled to find rhythm and didn’t swing or seam the ball, leaving the Indian team with few options to contain the aggressive Australian team.
Unprecedented Aggregate
Australia’s total at the end of the innings was an astounding 375/4 which is the biggest total ever faced by India Women’s ODI team. The previous record was in possession of South Africa 2020, but the Australian performance has raised the bar no end. Perry ended her innings making 134 runs while Voll managed to complete her innings without losing her wicket at 121 runs hence they have both been able to establish themselves as the pillars of the Australian batting unit.
India’s Response: A Tough Task
With a big target to defend including making the score Australia women’s batting line up faced a daunting task. The task was made possible only by the top order which consisted of Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and young prospect Shafali Verma coming in all guns blazing as a unit.
However Megan Schutt and Darcie Brown for Australia had different ideas as she the experienced one and Darcie the aggressive one was bowling.
Mandhana struck a quick half century which should have given some hope in terms of batting capabilities and range of shots. However she along with others kept losing wickets and Australia maintained their dominance. The Indian captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, tried to settle the innings but the required run rate kept increasing and it became too difficult to keep up.
Advice for the Indian team
This match highlighted aspects that India needed to work on. While the team has shown vast improvements, the lack of a strong middle order batsman who can see the team to victory along with issues of breaking key partnerships has still gone unaddressed. Indian seamers for instance need to come up with new plans to prepare them for tough situations when facing strong international teams such as Australia.
India had other areas where they were lacking and one in particular was their fielding. Missed catches and basic errors in the field allowed Perry and Voll to not only convert ones into four eights but build their partnership as well. These gaps will need to be addressed quickly with India heading into upcoming series matches.
Upcoming Star: Georgia Voll.
Georgia Voll’s century round off her innings by re enacting the dominant lady she has been cricketer with a hidden potential in the Australian team.
She not only matched Perry’s vigor but didn’t hesitate to step in charge when required. With Australia’s performance, it was evident the team had depth in its talents as the younger contestants could be effortlessly incorporated into the system. So it can be termed as a balance of youth and experience.
Final Assessment.
In women’s cricket, Australia’s comprehensive win against India provides an insight into how they have been able to dominate the sport; it is impressive in its uniformity and the degree of success achieved. The match provides India with substantial takeaways as they hope to close the gap with the best in the world. Despite the humiliating loss, Mandhana’s individual performance and glimpses of the talent elsewhere in the batting order points towards hope for better performances in future matches.
There is still an off chance for India to go in and perform in the next match while Australia will undoubtedly be headstrong in order to maintain their authoritative presence in the series.
If you are interested for more: Ellyse Perry, Georgia Voll Smash Centuries as India Concede Their Highest Total in Women’s ODI History “Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest LIVE: Premier League Result, Final Score, and Commentary”