Australia's batters provided their experienced bowling unit with sufficient runs to defend on a slow wicket and register a comprehensive 60-run win over New Zealand in the Women's T20 World Cup in Sharjah on Tuesday.
Smriti Mandhana's second-fastest hundred in women's ODIs went in vain as India's quest for a world-record chase in the series-deciding third game against Australia ended in a 43-run defeat, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Healy's injury forces Australia rethink ahead of Women's World Cup clash against England
India were served well by their top order batters with each of them hitting their stride to make significant contributions, even as the middle order players did not get going.
India will search for a spark of magic reminiscent of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's legendary knock eight years ago as they take on the mighty Australia in the World Cup semi-final on Thursday.
Backed by the pace of Annabel Sutherland and spin of Sophie Molineux, who has shaped up well for the slow sub-continent wickets, Australia will take the match against Pakistan to further streamline their strategy before taking on tougher teams like England, India and South Africa in the competition.
India batter Jemimah Rodrigues was on Wednesday ruled out of the remaining two women's ODIs against Australia due to a viral fever
Star India cricketer Smriti Mandhana continues to top the ODI batting charts though the charismatic batter's lead has reduced following two underwhelming performances in the ongoing ICC Women's World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
India were expecting a target around 380 against Australia but Phoebe Litchfield's dismissal followed by a "very good spell" from spinner Shree Charani turned the Women's ODI World Cup semifinal in the hosts' favour, said all-rounder Amanjot Kaur.
Australia captain Alyssa Healy will miss Wednesday's Women's World Cup match against England in Indore due to a calf injury.
I'd like India to have extra bowling depth against Australia: Ian bishop
Leg-spinner Alana King's spellbinding wizardry formed the cornerstone of Australia's seven-wicket triumph over South Africa as the defending champions concluded the Women's World Cup league stage firmly on top of the table in Indore on Saturday.
Sutherland, Gardner sparkle as Australia outplay England by six wickets
Despite making history, the 29-year-old's form at the ongoing showpiece event on home turf is turning out to be a cause of concern for India. In three appearances, Mandhana has managed just 54 runs at an underwhelming average of 18.00.
The four dropped catches let Australia, who would be India's toughest opponents apart from England in the women's World Cup scheduled later this month, off the hook and they managed to finish the task of chasing 281 runs in double-quick time.
Captain Alyssa Healy struck a magnificent unbeaten 113 to lead Australia to a crushing 10-wicket win over Bangladesh, virtually sealing his side's semifinal spot in the Women's World Cup, in Visakhapatnam, on Thursday.
With the second season of WPL around the corner, the Gujarat Giants announced that Australian batter Beth Mooney will captain the team and Indian all-rounder Sneh Rana will be her deputy.
Jemimah Rodrigues struck a sensational century as hosts India reached the ICC Women's World Cup Final with a magical run-chase against Australia
Pacer Kim Garth and spinner Alana King are up one spot each to be fourth and fifth in the ODI bowling ranking, their highest ever.
Gujarat Giants recorded a comfortable 19-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore to log their first points after four defeats.
Jemimah Rodrigues played the innings of her life, slamming a century for the ages as India pulled off a record chase to storm into the Women's World Cup final after a five-wicket victory over defending champions Australia in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will be playing an ODI World Cup final for the third time, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017 to Australia and England, respectively. This will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the final.
India have figured out a style of play in ODIs, and will be real threat: Australia skipper Healy
Deepti jumps two places to 5th, Mandhana continues to hold top spot in ODI rankings
Smriti Mandhana smashed the second-fastest ODI century by an Indian woman as the hosts handed Australia their heaviest defeat -- a 102-run thrashing -- in the second ODI.
Seasoned all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner's commanding century and disciplined effort from the bowlers helped defending champions Australia thrash trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by 89 runs in their ICC Women's World Cup opening match in Indore on Wednesday.
Australia will also play a three-match ODI series against India ahead of the 50-over showpiece event.
After being outplayed in the opener, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team roared back with a stunning 102-run victory, which was Australia's heaviest defeat in terms of runs. It was also India's first win over them in 12 matches.
Mooney is one of the few batters in the Women's T20 to have scored more than one hundred, her highest score being an unbeaten 117.
Meanwhile, England fast bowler Lauren Bell moved up two places to reach fourth in the rankings for bowlers after her three-wicket haul in the first T20I against India.
Star India batter Smriti Mandhana on Saturday admitted that her maiden T20 International hundred in the first match against England "took a long time coming" but was relieved to achieve the feat as she "had a habit of getting out".
Perry (57, 34b, 6x4, 2x6) and Ghosh (64 not out, 27b, 7x4, 4x6) were in sublime touch as defending champions RCB scaled down the target of 202 with ease in the tournament opener.
Needing 16 off two overs, Kashvee Gautam struck Shikha Pandey for a six off the last ball to bring down the equation to seven runs in the last over.
Ahead of the Women's Premier League opening game, Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney opened up on the impact the WPL will have on young cricketers.
Images from the Women's T20 World Cup Final between Australia and South Africa played in Cape Town on Sunday
Mumbai Indians will take confidence from their emphatic victory against Gujarat Giants in their penultimate league game on Monday.
Mooney struck a match-winning unbeaten 74 as Australia claimed their sixth Women's T20 World Cup title
India's Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma have retained their third positions in the latest ICC Women's T20I batter and bowlers' rankings respectively, released on Tuesday.
Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy struck unbeaten half-centuries as defending champions Australia thrashed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to virtually qualify for the semi-finals of the women's T20 World Cup, in Gqeberha, South Africa, on Thursday.
Australia's Ashleigh Gardner replaced compatriot Beth Mooney as Gujarat Giants' captain for WPL 2025.
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