In the 32nd over of India’s run-chase against Australia in Perth, Harmanpreet Kaur lofted legspinner Alana King over the field at mid-on. Tahlia McGrath ran back as the ball plonked in the outfield and didn’t have the legs to reach the boundary. As she turned and fired a throw, Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana had completed just one run and stood staring at each other over a missed double.
Then came a moment of on-field commentary from wicketkeeper Beth Mooney that summed everything up: “Great attitude from us, ladies!”
The emphasis was firmly on ‘us’ and without using as many words, called out how India’s attitude was bizarre in trying to chase 299. Harmanpreet’s side went on to lose the third ODI by 83 runs, and the series 0-3 after three abject surrenders. Except for brief periods in the match at WACA– courtesy Arundhati Reddy with the ball and Smriti Mandhana with the bat – Australia were never put under any pressure over the duration of the entire series.
The story of the two innings neatly summarised the gulf that existed between the teams. Batting first, Australia survived a serious spell of seam bowling by Arundhati that reduced them to 78/4 in the 17th over to post 298, thanks to their incredible batting depth. Annabel Sutherland was moved up to No 5 to make better use of her batting prowess, and she responded with a superb 95-ball 110 to add to her Test double century at this venue. Ash Gardner, who has been struggling for runs in recent times, chipped in with a 50, and India aided their cause by dropping chances as well. Tahlia McGrath, batting at No 7, hit a half century too as Arundhati’s early burst of four wickets felt like it happened in the distant past. Briefly under pressure, the world champions found players to step up.
India, on the other hand, were once again overdependent on Smriti. Chasing 299 was tough, but the stylish left-hander kept the visitors in the hunt as long as she was in the middle, despite Harleen Deol’s painful 64-ball 39 at a strike rate of 60. With Harmanpreet Kaur joining her next, there was another halt in momentum as the Indian captain is known to be a slow starter. She too perished soon, for a 22-ball 12 at a strike rate of 54. Only Smriti’s partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues had any urgency but that was short-lived too.
Quick kill
With the scoreboard reading 189/3 in the 36th over, Smriti was dismissed for 105. Promptly, India lost three wickets on the same score over the next two overs. India went from 165/2 to 215 all out in just over 12 overs. It was once again a case of Smriti’s exit precipitating a fast meltdown.
“Someone different has stood up every game. It’s a collective approach and we back each other and everyone is stoked for them. Our batting is the highlight for me,” McGrath said after the match, highlighting where India lacked.
Smriti, who scored a record-breaking fourth ODI century in 2024, said in the press conference: “It’s definitely tough to take because we came here after winning the New Zealand series and felt the team was looking good, but Australia outplayed us. There were days when our batting clicked and days when our bowling clicked, but we couldn’t click together as a team. There are a lot of lessons to learn, and hopefully, we will keep working on them.”
“We definitely don’t doubt that we can compete; you can’t play cricket if you doubt yourself,” Smriti said. “But some things didn’t go our way. There was a time in this game too when taking our chances could have made a difference. It’s a learning experience for us to take those chances when given.”
Harmanpreet too spoke about learning from mistakes, which wasn’t dissimilar to what she said a few weeks earlier in Sharjah as the same team knocked them out of the T20 World Cup. The problems with this current Indian team – dot ball percentage, strike rotation, catching lapses, lack of batting depth – have been around for a while now, but little seems to have improved on the field. Losing an ODI series against the best team in the world is, perhaps, excusable but the way India were outplayed over the last week should raise serious concerns within the team and those selecting the squads.
Brief scores: Australia 298/6 in 50 overs (Annabel Sutherland 110, Ash Gardner 50, Tahlia McGrath 56*; Arundhati Reddy 4/26) beat India 215 all out in 45.1 overs (Smriti Mandhana 105, Harleen Deol 39; Ashleigh Gardner 5/30) by 83 runs
