Australia Women Vs India Women Series Review-Jhulan’s Joy, Tahlia’s Brilliance, and Lots of Beth Mooney

by Nitesh Mathur | Oct 16, 2021 | Article Index, India

Australia Women Vs India Women Series Review—one of the best series in recent memory.

This series had numerous memorable moments.

• End of the great Australia 3-year year 26-match ODI streak
• Jhulan Goswami’s controversial no-ball and last ball six
• Courageous Molineux & Consistent Mooney
• A Day-Night pink ball Test match
• Triple Declaration in Test matches
• Injury to Rachael Haynes
• Shikha Pandey’s ball of the century to dismiss Alyssa Healy (Watch Video Here).
• Return of Jemimah Rodrigues & Ellse Perry
• Emergency of Tahlia McGrath & Georgia Wareham

At the end of a close series, Australia marched ahead in the multi-series with 4 wins & 11 points, while India languished at just 5 points, with 1 win.

India have closed gaps in all formats, but Australia are still one step ahead. Without further ado, here are some highlights from this series—Scorecards, Stats, Summaries, and Awards.

Also Read: Case For 5-Day Tests In Women’s Cricket? What Can Ellyse Perry Not Do?

Results – Australia Women Vs India Women

ODI Series: Australia Win 2-1

* Player of Match

1. Australia Women won by 9 wickets*Darcie Brown
   • Video Highlights
2. Australia Women won by 5 wickets*Beth Mooney
   • Video Highlights
3. India Women won by 2 wickets*Jhulan Goswami
   • Video Highlights

Only Test (Day-Night): Match Drawn

1. Match Drawn*Smriti Mandhana
   • Video Highlights

T20I Series: Australia Win 2-0

1. No Result
   • Video Highlights
2. Australia Women won by 4 wickets*Tahlia McGrath
   • Video Highlights
3. Australia Women won by 14 runs*Tahlia McGrath
   • Video Highlights

The Moments

Australia Women

• India saw lots of Beth Mooney. A constant source of runs for the Australian team. With scores of 59 (tour match), 125* & 52 (ODI), 34 & 61 (T20I), she was the highest run scorer across the three formats. Mooney, who had replaced Rachael Haynes in the T20I squad, has now risen to #1 ranking. Her best innings came in the 2nd ODI, taking Australia from 52/4 in the 16th over to 275/5 on the last ball. She stitched two partnerships—126 (137) with McGrath & 97* (71) with Nicola Carey.
• Tahlia McGrath & Darcie Brown were the finds of the series for Australia.
  • McGrath was an all-round package with contributions of 74 & 3/45, 47 & 1/46 (ODI), 28 (Test), and 42* & 44* to finish things off in the T20Is.
  • Darcie Brown set the tone for Australia in the first ODI. With Perry not back at her best with the ball, Brown took responsibility with a match-winning 4/33 in only her 2nd ODI, limiting India to 225. Hannah Darlington, the debutant also chipped in with a couple of wickets.
• The series cannot be summarized without the contributions of Sophie Molineux. She was consistently among the wickets and stifled India’s run rate in the middle overs, taking 11 wickets in total. The most courageous moment of the series came in the 3rd ODI when Molineux got hit in the lip and started bleeding. She went off the field, but came back with her face bandaged to finish her quota of overs. However, it could not prevent the end of the streak.

India Women

• Jhulan Goswami might be coming to the end of her career, but she still has what it takes at the international level. In the first ODI, she scored 20 to get India to a respectable total of 225 after a brief collapse. In the 2nd ODI, her batting again came at the fore with 28* but was at the receiving end of an umpiring no-ball call which resulted in Australia’s last ball victory. Joy and sorrow within minutes. Redemption soon followed in the 3rd ODI with a player-of-the-match performance—3/37 & 8* with a last-ball six. For her all-round performance, Elyse Villani on commentary started #JusticeForJhulan to get Goswami to play T20 cricket.
• Mandhana & Rodrigues came back in style after doubts on their ability. Mandhana’s 127 in the Test match and 52 in the T20I reinforced her class after a lean season. Jemimah Rodrigues was the story of The Hundred as the 2nd highest scorer with 249 runs, 3 50s, and the best innings of the tournament with that 92*. She continued her form in the T20I, scoring 49* in a rain-effected game.
• With Jemimah out of the ODI side, debutant Yastika Bhatia grabbed her opportunity with scores of 35 & 64 in the ODIs. Her fluency and promotion at #3 meant India did not miss Jemimah or inured Harmanpreet Kaur much. Good foil for stalwart Mithali Raj.

Awards

Where Do They Go From Here?

The much awaited ODI World Cup will commence in March 2022. Australia plays its first match against arch-rivals England on March 4th, while India begin their journey on the 5th. Here is the detailed schedule.

So what did I think of the series?

Do not go by the scoreline, but it was much closer than expected. In each match, India competed most of the game, either falling narrowly or just before the end. In the Tests, India actually dominated (if only for a 5th Day…).

However there is still a long way to go. In parallel to men’s cricket, this era of Indian-Australian rivalry resembles the early 2000s. Australia are at the top of the world across formats & have just completed a famous streak. India have a new fanbase with good shows in the recent World Cups. Their best show can defeat any team on their day, but it might still take a decade to establish a decent bench strength like Australia.

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© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2021. Originally published on 10/15/2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).