Blistering Blackwell and Power-packed Perry help Australia eves thrash India in the first ODI

Shifting gears from T20 to 50 over cricket wasn’t all that easy for India eves. Playing the first of the three ODIs, Australia Women thrashed India by a handsome margin of 101 runs today at Manuka Oval, Canberra. Australia skipper Meg Lanning won the toss and elected to bat first. The Aussies did not get off to a kind of start they would have wanted as they lost their opening bat Nicole Bolton (1) cheaply to Jhulan Goswami in just the third over. However there was no looking back since then. The Belinda Clark award winner and one of Australia’s best all-rounders Ellyse Perry came into bat next. First with Lanning (43) and then with Alex Blackwell (114), Perry stitched some useful partnerships in the middle, helping her team to post a formidable 276-6 in 50 overs. Blackwell made a mockery of Indian bowling as she smacked them all-round the park. It was Blackwell’s third century and she recorded her career best figures in today’s match.  India bowlers had no answers to Perry-Blackwell blitzkrieg. Apart from Shikha Pandey (3-32 in 10 overs), none of the other bowlers could threaten the hosts’ batting line-up.

Australia had set a mammoth chase for the visitors and it was important for the latter to get off to a solid start. Unfortunately both the openers were back in the hut inside 10 overs, which meant that the India skipper Mithali Raj would have to shoulder the burden of this mountain-like chase. Just when Raj (23) and Harmanpreet Kaur (42) were trying to build a partnership, Jess Jonassen trapped the big fish leg before wicket. With Raj making her way to the pavilion, the tension was mounting in the Indian dressing room. There was nothing much done by the lower order, apart from Goswami (25), who got off to a start but failed to capitalize. Ellyse Perry and co. bundled out the visitors for 175 in 46.5 overs, thus winning the match by a huge margin of 101 runs.  

The second ODI will be played on 5^th Feb at Bludstone Arena, Hobart.  

Brief scores: Australia Women 276-6 in 50 overs (A Blackwell 114, E Perry 90, M Lanning 43; S Pandey 3-32) beat India Women 175-10 in 46.5 overs (H Kaur 42, J Goswami 25; E Perry 4-45) by 101 runs

                                                              Source: Getty Images