In Wednesday’s inaugural women’s one-day encounter in Brisbane, India A cruised to a three-wicket victory against their Australian counterparts with to a fifty from Yastika Bhatia and consistent strikes from bowlers led by captain Radha Yadav.
The three-match series is presently 1-0 in favor of India.
As India A swept out Australia A for 214, left-arm spinner Radha claimed three wickets (3/45) before the visitors brought down the mark in 42 overs, led by Bhatia (59 off 70 balls, 7×4).
With Bhatia and Shafali Verma (36 off 31 balls) scoring 77 runs for the first wicket in just 10.4 overs, India got off to a great start.
India swept to 140 for 1 in 23.3 overs after Shafali was dismissed by Sianna Ginger. Bhatia and Dhara Gujjar (31 off 53 balls) then added 63 runs for the second wicket.
But India A was reduced to 157 for three after Gujjar was bowled out by Tess Flintoff and Bhatia was bowled out by Kim Garth. The tourists subsequently fell to 166 for five after off-spinner Ella Hayward (2/46) dismissed Tanusree Sarkar and Tejal Hasabnis in the 30th and 32nd overs.
The resolute Raghvi Bist (25 not out off 34 balls) proved to be India’s savior, and they managed to get past the tape despite Radha and Minnu Mani being quickly dismissed by left-arm bowler Lucy Hamilton.
Earlier, despite strong efforts from Anika Learyod (92 not out off 90 balls) and Rachael Trenaman (51 off 62 balls), Australia never really had it easy.
Learyod and Trenman’s 63-run partnership, which saved the home team from a shaky 50 for three before the latter was run out, was the highlight of the Australian innings.
The Australians then reached 158 for four in 34.1 overs as Learyod and Nicole Faltum (18) shared 45 runs for the third wicket.
From there, however, left-arm spinner Radha and off-spinner Minnu Mani (2/38) combined to cause an Australian collapse, claiming four wickets each for a total of only seven runs, bringing the home team down to 165 for eight.
Batting with the tail, Learyod guided Australia past the 200-run mark, but a win ultimately proved out of reach.
