Smriti Mandhana's record century in vain as Australia seal series in Delhi run fest

Smriti Mandhana’s record-breaking century went in vain as India lost to Australia by 43 runs in the high-scoring 3rd ODI on Saturday, September 20 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Mandhana etched her name in record books, registering the fastest century by an Indian in ODI cricket, reaching the milestone in just 50 deliveries.

However, despite her breathtaking innings of 125 (63), studded with 17 fours and five sixes, India failed to chase down the massive target of 413 and got all out for 369 in 47 overs. Kim Garth (3/69) and Megan Schutt (2/53) emerged as the top wicket takers for Australia, who also won the three-match series by 2-1.

India were well on course to chase down the humongous target as Mandhana came out all guns blazing and raced to her half-century off just 23 balls— fastest by an Indian in Women’s ODIs. She got the support from captain Harmanpreet Kaur (52 off 35) as the duo got involved in a massive 121-run stand off 69 balls for the third wicket after Pratika Rawal (10 off 12) and Harleen Deol (11 off 14) departed cheaply.

Courtesy of their partnership, India crossed the 200-run mark in just 20 overs and brought the required run rate well in control. With the game running away, Garth came to Australia’s rescue and broke the massive stand by dismissing the India captain lbw.

At the other end, Mandhana continued to deal in boundaries, but was dismissed in the very next over, after hitting a full toss from Grace Harris towards Ashleigh



Gardner at square leg, who put in a full-length dive to complete the catch. As a result, India’s innings lost impetus after back-to-back dismissals of Harmanpreet and Mandhana to be at 216/4 in 21.1 overs, needing 197 runs from 173 balls.

Following their dismissals, Richa Ghosh (6 off 6), Radha Yadav (18 off 21) and Arundhati Reddy (10 off 13) failed to make any significant contributions, leaving India staring down the barrel. However, at the other end, Deepti Sharma (72 off 58) played the lone hand to keep the hosts in the hunt with her 15th ODI half-century.

She found some support from Sneh Rana (35 off 41) and added 65 runs off 54 balls for the eighth wicket as India required 61 runs to win from 46 balls, with three wickets in hand. Just when the target looked within reach, Deepti Sharma holed out to deep mid-wicket, which led to a deafening silence at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The Women in Blue were eventually bundled out for 369 as Megan Schutt and Kim Garth cleaned up the tail.

Earlier in the day, Beth Mooney's sensational 57-ball century helped Australia post a massive score of 412 — their joint highest in ODIs. Mooney played a breathtaking knock of 138 off 75 balls with the help of 23 fours and one six. Apart from her, Georgia Voll (81 off 68) and Ellyse Perry (68 off 72) also made valuable contributions. For India, Arundhati Reddy (3/86 in 8.5 overs ), Renuka Singh (2/79, 9 overs) and Deepti Sharma (2/75) were the top wicket takers in the high-scoring affair.