Navi Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) Jemimah Rodrigues struck a majestic century and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur blasted a 88 ball 89 as India aced a stiff chase to dethrone Australia with a five-wicket win and set up a summit clash with South Africa in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup here on Thursday.
In one of the most memorable matches of her career, Rodrigues hammered an unbeaten 127 off 134 balls (14×4) and shared a 167-run partnership with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (89 off 88 balls, 10×4, 2×6) as India reached 341/5 off 48.3 overs to overcome Australia’s 338 all out. Build on a majestic 93-ball 117 by Phoebe Litchfield in the second semifinal at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
With Litchfield going great guns and Ellyse Perry (77) and Ashleigh Gardner (63) scoring half-centuries, Australia had reached 265/5 in 42 overs and looked good to go past 350. But the Indian bowlers applied the brakes, and with Deepti Sharma claiming two wickets off two balls in the final over, bowled out the seven-time World Champions in 50-over cricket for 338.
India took charge of the proceedings after that and, despite the early departure of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, mounted a superb chase to reach the final for the third time.
India’s chase of a mammoth target of 339 got off to a poor start as Shafali Verma, a last-minute replacement for the injured Pratika Rawal, lasted only six balls in the middle. Scoring 10 runs with two fours.
India’s batting mainstay, Mandhana, scored a run-a-ball 24, but was given out by the TV umpire after Ultra Edge detected a faintest of faint edge behind to keeper Alyssa Healy on DRS review as Kim Garth claimed 2-29 in her first spell of five overs.
But the hosts found their saviours in Rodrigues, who came in to bat in the absence of Harleen Deol and made the most of the opportunity, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur as they raised 167 runs for the second wicket partnership.
Jemimah, cut, drove and swept with aplomb while doing some hard running as she reached her fifty off 57 balls (8×4). She played some nice shots off the back foot but was not afraid of jumping out to reach the ball. A brilliant scoop off Kim Garth in the eighth over, boundaries off Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Alana King and a late cut off Garth that bisected point and short-third were especially pleasing to the eye. She got a life when Alyssa Healy put down a sitter off King.
Harmanpreet played an able foil initially. The Indian captain reached her fifty off 65 balls (6×4) as they built the innings steadily. India reached 189/2 in 30 overs to maintain their chances, as Australia were 193/2 at the same stage. Harmanpreet went on the offensive after reaching her fifty, hitting four more boundaries and two sixes.
Harmanpreet’s sensational 88-ball 89 ended when she was brilliantly picked by Ashleigh Gardner off Sutherland, miscuing an attempted pull as the ball held slightly off the surface.
Jemimah and Deepti Sharma added 38 runs for the fourth wicket partnership before the latter was run out, needlessly going for a tight single as India slipped to 264/3 in the 41st over.
Jemimah reached her maiden World Cup hundred off 115 balls, studded with 10 boundaries — a brilliant knock by a player who had failed to score much in her first three matches and was dropped for one game. That she came back strongly to score a hundred in the semifinal of the World Cup against the defending champion speaks volumes for the class of the Mumbai batter.
Richa Ghosh hammered Megan Schutt for a big six, and Jemimah spanked Gardner for a four with a reverse as kept the chase going, needing 55 off 42 balls. She got another reprieve when Tahlia McGrath dropped a simple catch off a slower one by Sutherland. Ghosh blasted a six and four off Gardner to take 14 runs off the 45th over, leaving India needing 34 off 30 balls. Ghosh (26 off 16, 4×2, 6×2) then sliced a catch straight to backward point off Sutherland after adding 46 runs for the fifth wicket partnership.
Rodrigues struck a couple of crucial boundaries, two of them in a crucial 47th over bowled by Sutherland that cost 15 runs, India needing eight runs off 12 balls to win the match.
Earlier, though India got the prized scalp of Healy early (5), Litchfield, Perry and Gardner ensured they posted a big total.
Litchfield, who had her heart in her mouth being given out for a catch by Amanjot off Shree Charani that was ruled as bump ball by the TV umpire, struck three fours in an over off Radha Yadav and went down the track to hammer Charani over the long-off boundary for a six. She kept slicing, cutting, driving and reversing with ease as she raced towards her century.
The 22-year-old left-handed opener hammered Deepti Sharma for sixes off successive balls — first straight down the ground, followed by a brilliant switch hit. She fell for 119, moving across to hit Amanjot Kaur and getting castled instead. Litchfield struck 17 boundaries and three sixes in the 93 balls she faced, adding 155 runs for the second wicket partnership with Perry.
Perry continued to drop the anchor as she added 40 runs for the third wicket with Beth Mooney (24, 22b, 3×4). The defending champions lost their way a bit as three wickets fell for 23 runs. Mooney chipped to Jemimah Ridrigues in covers off Charani, Perry was cleaned up by Radha Yadav for 77 off 88 balls, studded with six boundaries and two sixes, while Annabel Sutherland was caught by Charani off her own bowling for three runs.
With Ashleigh Gardner hitting a couple of big ones, Australia crossed the 300-run mark. Gardner added 66 runs for the seventh wicket partnership with Kim Garth. Gardner blasted back-to-back sixes off Radha Yadav in the 49th over before being run out for 63 off 45 balls (4×4, 4×6), going for a non-existent run.
Brief scores:
Australia 338 all out in 49.5 overs (Phoebe Litchfield 119, Ellyse Perry 77, Ashleigh Gardner 63; N Shree Charani 2-49, Deepti Sharma 2-73) lost to India 341/5 in 48.3 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 127 not out, Harmanpreet Kaur 89, Richa Ghosh 26; Kim Garth 2-46, Annabel Sutherland 2-69) by five wickets.
–IANS
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