Lanning stars as India succumb to third loss of the World Cup

Australia captain Meg Lanning scored a scintillating 97 off 107 balls as Australia beat India by six wickets to qualify for the semifinals of the 2022 Women's ODI World Cup on Saturday (March 19) at Eden Park, Auckland. 

Chasing 278, Australian openers Alyssa Healy (72 off 65) and Rachael Haynes (43) began with a flurry of boundaries in the powerplay on a pitch aiding batters. The pair put 50 runs within seven overs as Healy brought up her fifty in 49 balls. Indian captain Mithali Raj operated with five of her bowling options in the first 15 overs, but Healy and Haynes piled on quick runs.

Sneh Rana finally found a breakthrough in the 20th over when she got Healy to play a reverse scoop straight to Mithali at short third. Off the next over, Pooja Vastrakar sent back Haynes with a well-directed bouncer to have Australia at 123/2.

However, Lanning and Ellyse Perry ensured there were no further hiccups as they found runs at will and put the Indians under pressure with seamless batting. The duo put on 103 runs in 123 balls with Lanning reaching her 17th ODI fifty in 56 balls.

Rain halted the play with nine overs left in the innings with Australia in a comfortable position but Vastrakar dismissed Perry soon after the restart as India narrowed down the chase. Goswami, playing her 200th ODI, conceded just two runs off the 48th over while Meghna Singh claimed the wicket of Lanning which brough the chase to 8 from 6 balls.

However, Beth Mooney ensured the Aussies got over the line with two boundaries and a double off Goswami's final over.

India middle-order shines

After being put in to bat by Australia, India got off to a poor start as pacer Darcie Brown removed Smriti Mandhana (10) and Shafali Verma (12) in quick succession with 28 runs on the board. Captain Mithali Raj and Yastika Bhatia got to the repair work as they steadily scored singles and twos while getting odd boundary.

Mithali was the enforcer of the pair as she found gaps in the field quite often, putting the Australian bowlers under pressure. Mithali Raj, who has struggled with form in the tournament, brought up her fifty in 77 balls before the pair added 100 runs in 139 balls. Bhatia also brought up her maiden ODI fifty with a cut off Ashleigh Gardner.

The pair started finding boundaries more easily when Bhatia (59 off 83) came out of her crease against Brown and hit it straight to Ellyse Perry at deep square. Perry, who struggled with her line and length with the ball, took the catch of Mithali (68 off 96) off Alana King.

The Indian batting order went into disarray soon after that as Richa Ghosh (8) and Sneh Rana (0) walked back in quick succession. However, Harmanpreet Kaur (57 not out) and Pooja Vastrakar (34 off 28) added 57 off 47 balls to get India to 277/7 in 50 overs.