Indian women’s cricket team started off the Common Wealth Games 2022 campaign on a losing note. Team India was defeated by mighty Australia by 3 wickets. At one point, everyone thought that India would win. However, Ashleigh Gardner and Grace Harris turned the tables with their scintillating partnership.
After winning the toss, India chose to bat first. It lost the wicket of opener Smriti Mandanna quite early. But Shefali Varma (48) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (52) ensured that the team will get to a respectable total. However, Australian bowlers came back hard in the latter half of the innings and restricted India to scoring just 39 runs in the last 5 overs. As a result, India managed to score 154/8 by the end of 20 overs.
Australia got a disastrous start while chasing this modest total. Renuka Singh’s deadly spell (4/18) helped India in scalping 4 wickets in less than 5 overs. At one point, Australia’s score was 49/5. That’s when Gardner (52*) and Harris (37) weaved a partnership of 51 runs and stabilized the chase. They kept the required run rate in their reach throughout the innings. In the end, they managed to score 157/7 in 19 overs. Thus, Renuka’s mind-blowing performance went in vain.
India will take on Pakistan in its second match on July 31. If India loses this game, it will be out of the semifinals.
