Until the eighth-wicket stand between Rodrigues and Vastrakar, Australia did not allow any pair to settle in. Six of the seven bowlers picked up at least a wicket each after they were asked to bowl first on a track offering turn.
Rodrigues, who carried forward her Test form into ODIs, was visibly wilting in the heat, but she ran hard, swept hard and drove through covers to notch up her fifth fifty in her 25th ODI. After sharing 38, 39 and 45 runs with Bhatia, Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur respectively, she found Vastrakar’s help to put on 68 runs – the only fifty-plus partnership of the innings – for the eighth wicket.
Rodrigues’ 77-ball stay had seven fours while Vastrakar hit seven fours and two sixes in her 46-ball knock. After Rodrigues’ dismissal in the 47th over, Vastrakar blasted her way to her fourth ODI fifty off 39 balls in the penultimate over, yet again proving her batting credentials lower down the order.
It looked like India saved the best for the last phase, accumulating 82 runs in the final ten overs. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome Meg Lanning-less Australia. For the visitors, Wareham and Ashleigh Gardner were crucial in scalping two wickets each.
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