Rajkot, January 16 (UITV)- India performed brilliantly at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Wednesday and defeated Ireland by a huge margin of 304 runs to win the three-match series 3-0. The brilliant centuries of two key batsmen of the Indian women’s cricket team, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana, played an important role in this historic victory.
From the toss to the end of the match, everything was in India’s favor. Batting first, India scored 435/5, which is not only the highest score of this series but also India’s highest score ever in women’s ODI cricket. After this, the Ireland team was reduced to just 131 runs in 31.4 overs and thus India won a spectacular victory by 304 runs. This is also India’s biggest victory in women’s ODI cricket.
The foundation of this victory was laid by Smriti Mandhana, who scored the fastest ODI century ever by an Indian women’s cricket. She completed her century in just 70 balls and earlier broke Harmanpreet Kaur’s record of scoring a century in 87 balls. Mandhana scored 135 runs in 80 balls, hitting 12 fours and seven sixes, which was the tenth century of her ODI career.
Also, Pratika Rawal also performed brilliantly with her first ODI century. She completed her century in 100 balls and scored 154 runs in total 129 balls. This was recorded as the third highest individual score by an Indian woman in ODI cricket and it is also the highest score by an Indian woman batsman on home ground.
Smriti and Pratika together added 233 runs in the opening partnership, which became the third highest opening partnership for India in ODI cricket. After this, Richa Ghosh played a quick innings of 59 runs, making India the third team to cross the 400-run mark in women’s ODI history. India achieved this feat for the first time and the score of 435/5 became India’s highest ever ODI team score, be it in men’s or women’s cricket.
The target of 436 runs was quite challenging for Ireland. However, Sarah Forbes and Orla Prendergast shared a 64-run partnership for the third wicket, with Sarah Forbes scoring 41 and Orla Prendergast scoring 36. The duo struggled for a while in the field, but as soon as the partnership broke, the Ireland team lost their last seven wickets for just 31 runs.
India’s bowlers performed brilliantly during this period. Deepti Sharma bowled the best with figures of 3-27. Tanuja Kanwar took 2 wickets, while Titas Sadhu, Sayali Satghare and Minnu Mani also took one wicket each. This brilliant bowling performance led India to a record win, which is a positive sign for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
In this match, India not only broke records in batting but also showed its strength in bowling. Although the Ireland team struggled a bit, they were badly defeated by the excellent bowling and batting of the Indian team.
Brief Score: India: 435/5 (Pratika Rawal 154, Smriti Mandhana 135; Orla Prendergast 2-71)
Ireland: 131/10 (Sarah Forbes 41, Orla Prendergast 36; Deepti Sharma 3-27, Tanuja Kanwar 2-31)
India defeated Ireland by 304 runs in 31.4 overs.
With this victory, India not only won the series 3-0, but also proved its best performance in women’s ODI cricket. This brilliant victory has further strengthened the confidence of the Indian team, especially in view of the upcoming ODI World Cup.