Australia captain Meg Lanning scored a fine 97 and a quickfire 72 from Alyssa Healy helped them win the game convincingly and seal a semi-finals berth
Follow Us
Australia registered a convincing win over India in their fifth match of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup to extend their unbeaten run and qualify for the semi-finals. After Australian bowlers managed to restrict within 277 runs, Meg Lanning scored a fine 97 and a quickfire 72 from Alyssa Healy helped them win the game convincingly. With this, they have sealed their place in the semi-final as well.
Along with them, Rachael Haynes and Beth Mooney also contributed. With the ball, Darcie Brown picked up 3 for 30 and Alana King also scalped 2 wickets. For India, both Mithali Raj and Yastika Bhatia both steadied the ship after two early dismissals. Later, Harmanpreet Kaur also smashed a quickfire fifty and helped India post a decent total of 277 in their allotted 50 overs. But the bowlers failed to defend the total and they eventually lost the game.
After the win, Meg Lanning said: “They have got a world class team. We were pretty planned coming into the game. At the halfway mark we were pretty comfortable with that total, it was a ripper of a wicket. Great win for the group. Something we can imporve on (about controlling wides), fielding was fumbly too. We want to keep getting better every game. Pretty difficult to get the angles right on this ground. Pockets are massive.”
READ MORE: Lanning, Healy guide six-time champions to victory; book semi-finals berth
He said, “All the grounds here in New Zealand are unique and different shaped. We knew we had it under control, just about getting a couple of boundaries. Mooney came in and took pressure off me. I thought the chase was really good from our team. Healy and Haynes set the base nicely at the start. Different people have stepped up at different times. I though Alyssa did so well today and you could tell from the first ball she faced that she was on today with that look on her face and it was nice to see her do well.”
Mithali Raj, who has returned in form after having a series of poor shows, said: “When you lose you always feel you are 10-15 runs short. I think the way Australia started the innings, were always ahead of the asking rate. The fielders couldn’t back up the bowlers. The batting is something we wanted to improve and we did. We need to do well in all departments in the remaining games. Next two games are must win. Thanks to all the Indians who came here to support the girls. She (Jhulan) brings in a lot of experience. Incredible for a fast bowler to play 200 games for the country, takes a lot of discipline. She is a role model for many players and young girls back in India.”
“I think it was good to contribute personally, disappointing to miss out on scores in the last couple of games, but I have trained hard at the nets. It (the ball) came on nicely, not much turn and you could play your shots on this surface. We have different game plans (on batting with Ellyse Perry), she’s very calm, it’s nice to have someone who’s very comfortable at her game. I just had to trust my hands and play through the line of the ball (on her drives),” Meg Lanning, who was awarded the Player of the Match, shared.
