Australia claw back to limit India to 330 in CWC25 tie

Australia produced a brilliant bowling display in the latter stages, bowling India out for 330 in their ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 clash.

Smriti Mandhana topscored for India with Pratika Rawal providing solid support during their commanding opening stand. However, once the duo departed, India lost wickets at regular intervals, slipping from 294/5 to 330 all out.

Annabel Sutherland (5/40) starred with the ball, claiming a superb five-wicket haul, while Sophie Molineux (3/75) chipped in with key breakthroughs. Ashleigh Gardner and Megan Schutt also picked up a wicket each.

India’s innings had its share of highs and lows. Mandhana and Rawal set the tone with a commanding 150-run partnership for the first wicket, the highest opening stand against Australia in the tournament’s history.

Mandhana led the charge with a blistering 80 off 66 balls, an innings laced with nine fours and six sixes, while Rawal too played a strong innings with a composed 75 featuring 10 boundaries. Both registered their first half-centuries of the tournament with Mandhana also becoming the youngest and fastest to reach 5000 ODI runs.

The first breakthrough came when Sophie Molineux dismissed Mandhana, breaking the big partnership before Annabel Sutherland removed Rawal. From there, India lost two quick wickets, as Harmanpreet Kaur fell to Megan Schutt and Harleen Deol, who also crossed 1000 ODI runs, was dismissed by Molineux.

Despite the setback, Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues provided late fireworks, adding a lively 50-run stand with their explosive cameos. However, once the duo departed, there was little India could do despite being well-placed at 294/5.

Watch Pratika Rawal bring up her half-century with a beautiful straight drive in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup clash between India and Australia.

Earlier, Australia captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and elected to bowl first at the ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium.

With both teams having played three games apiece, Australia have won two and have a no-result to their name, while hosts India have two wins and a loss to their name. The teams are currently placed second and third respectively in the standings, just below England who topped the tally with their third successive win of the tournament over Sri Lanka the other night.

Australia captain Alyssa Healy calls it right at the toss and elects to field first against India at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025.

Australia kickstarted their campaign with a hefty win over the Trans-Tasman rivals, New Zealand. While their next encounter against Sri Lanka was a washout, the Alyssa Healy-led side notched another big win against Pakistan in their third outing.

India on the other hand, enjoyed successive wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan to begin their tournament. However, their unbeaten run would come to an end against the Proteas, who pulled a miraculous win in Visakhapatnam.

Sanjana Ganesan previews the exciting ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup clash between India and Australia.

INDIA WOMEN: Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Richa Ghosh (WK), Sneh Rana, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani.

AUSTRALIA WOMEN: Alyssa Healy (C/WK), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux (In for Georgia Wareham), Kim Garth, Alana King, Megan Schutt.