Credits: bcci/x
The Indian women’s cricket team secured a dominating six-wicket win over Ireland in the first ODI of the three-match series. Ireland are currently touring India for a three-match ODI series, and on Friday, both sides came off for the first game of the series in Rajkot. The game saw opening batter Smriti Mandhana shouldering the responsibility of captaincy. Irish skipper Gaby Lewis won the toss and invited the hosts to bowl first. Irish women got off to a disastrous start as opener Sarah Forbes was forced to walk back for 9 (15).
While batters on other end kept changing, skipper Lewis stood firm and came up with a solid knock of 92 runs off 129 deliveries. She smashed 15 boundaries, and her knock was backed by Leah Paul’s 59 off 73 to put an overall total of 238 with the loss of seven wickets. In return, Indian women got off decently, with skipper Mandhana scoring 41 runs off 29 balls with a combination of six boundaries and one maximum.
Pratika Rawal leads India’s score chase with 96-ball 89
As Mandhana smashed a brisk 41 off 29 balls, she created history by becoming the fastest Indian women’s cricketer to complete 4000 runs in ODIs. After her dismissal in the 10th over, Pratika Rawal and Tejal Hasabnis came together and guided India to a smooth victory. Rawal came up with 89 runs off 96 balls with a combination of 10 boundaries, before she was dismissed in an attempt of a lofted shot. On the other hand, Hasabnis remained not out on 53, which anchored India’s chase after Rawal’s dismissal.
Rawal was adjudged Player of the Match, and during the post-match ceremony, she said, “It helps a lot, always enjoy watching Mandhana from the other end. It eases me down. Being a student of Psychology also helps to stay calm. We were just trying to keep it simple, we had a good start. We just had to carry on the momentum. At the end, Tejal also played really well. We all played well, in fact. I am not thinking about the results, not thinking about the big numbers, just taking it one match at a time. Whenever the ball is in my slot, I try to hit boundaries. Otherwise I just try to push it down the ground.”
