Several records were broken as India posted 282-8 against Australia in the first women’s ODI of the three-match series, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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India were hit by the absence of Smriti Mandhana for the opening match of the series, who boasts of an excellent ODI record against Australia. Despite her absence, however, India amassed 282-8, their highest score against Australia, though their previous best, 281-4 in the 2017 World Cup semi-final at Derby, had come off only 42 overs.
This was also the sixth-highest total by any side against Australia (England’s 298-8 at Hamilton in the 2022 World Cup remains the highest), and India’s third-highest total on home soil (after 298-2 at Dhanbad in 2003/04 and 284-6 at the Brabourne Stadium in 2012/13, both against the West Indies).
This also marked the seventh time six India players reached 20 in an innings – their best in the format. In fact, there are only two instances of seven, by South Africa against India at P Sara Oval in 2016/17, and by New Zealand against Ireland at Dublin in 2018.
India were 182-7 at one point before Jemimah Rodrigues (82 in 77 balls), Pooja Vastrakar (62 not out in 46), and Renuka Singh Thakur (5 not out in 5) added 100 for the next two wickets. This is second-most runs put up by a side for the eighth and ninth wickets in an innings: against England at Hambantota in 2018/19, Nilakshika Silva, Oshadi Ranasinghe, and Udeshika Prabodhani had taken Sri Lanka from 46-7 to 159-8.
Vastrakar’s 62 not out was the highest score by a No.9 batter. This was her second fifty from No.9 (she had made 51 against Australia at Vadodara in 2017/18). In the history of the format, there has been only one other fifty by a No.9 – 51 not out by Ranasinghe against England in the abovementioned Hambantota.
Vastrakar has also scored two fifties from No.8, which makes her the only batter with four fifties from No.8 or below. In fact, no one else has even three fifties from these positions.
Vastrakar scored at 135, the second-fastest strike rate by an Indian at home while scoring a fifty, after Harmanpreet Kaur’s 154 (54 in 35 balls) against South Africa at Lucknow in 2020/21.
