India Women v Australia Women 2023/24

Watch: ‘Warne vs Gibbs vibes’ – Alana King bowls out Pooja Vastrakar with perfect leg-break

by Wisden Staff January 3, 2024 - 7:57am 3 minute read

Watch: Alana King bowled Pooja Vastrakar with a ripper of a leg-break in the third ODI, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Batting first in the final women’s ODI of the three-match series, Australia amassed 338-7, the highest total by any side against India, after Phoebe Litchfield (119 in 125 balls) and Alyssa Healy (82 in 85) put on 189 for the opening strand in 173 balls. For India, Shreyanka Patil claimed 3-57 and Amanjot Kaur 2-70.

India were never in the hunt, and were bowled out for 148 as none of their batters made it to 30. For Australia, Georgia Wareham (3-23), Annabel Sutherland (2-9), Alana King (2-21), and Megan Schutt (2-23) did most of the damage.

King’s ball to dismiss the dangerous Pooja Vastrakar, the seventh Indian wicket to fall, was the most spectacular of the dismissals. Bowling from over the wicket, King pitched the ball on leg stump. It landed on a length and turned viciously past Vastrakar’s bat to crash into the off-stump, evoking memories of Shane Warne’s ball to dismiss Herschelle Gibbs in the 1999 World Cup semi-final.

The 190-run margin of defeat was India’s third-biggest while batting second: they had lost to Australia by 221 runs at the same venue in 2011/12, and to New Zealand by 210 runs at Lincoln in 2005/06.

7cricket even compiled a splitscreen to show King’s similarity to Warne.

The commentary box has been marveling at Alana King's bowling last night, so the truck decided to put this split screen together ⭐ pic.twitter.com/6vcka89cPl

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 3, 2024