(Cricket news) Australia made it 5 wins out of 5 as they chased down a record 278 to beat India. The Aussies showed why they are the big dogs once again with a composed run chase anchored by their legendary captain Meg Lanning. India now have two important games remaining against Bangladesh and South Africa.
India made a very interesting selection choice by changing their combinations as they brought in opener Shafali Verma back for all-rounder Deepti Sharma. Australia won the toss and put India into bat first. India managed to get 277 runs on the board thanks to half-centuries by Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur. Pooja Vastrakar fired at the end with her 28-ball 34. The pitch was very good for batting as the Aussies did miss their lengths a few times.
Chasing 278, Australia were given a magnificent start by their ever reliable opening pair of Alyssa Healy and Rachel Haynes. The pair put 121 runs on the board which was the highest opening partnership at the World Cup. India did bounce back as Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar dismissed the two openers in quick succession. Skipper Meg Lanning and the experienced Elysse Perry steadied the ship, scoring runs at a good rate. Rain stopped play for a few minutes and after the play resumed Vastrakar struck once again as Perry hit her full toss straight to mid off.
Lanning was dismissed 3 runs short of her century in the 2nd last over leaving Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath 8 runs to get off Jhulan Goswami's last over. Mooney showed no signs of pressure as she finished it off 3 balls to spare as Australia won by 6 wickets. They broke the record for the highest successful run chase at the Women's World Cup in the process. Indian bowlers were very inconsistent with their lengths and couldn't put pressure on the Aussies for too long despite having a big target to defend.
India's fielding was once again way below standards. Even though they didn't drop a catch there were way too many fumbles and it was easy for Australia to sneak in singles and convert ones into twos. India now have to win both their remaining games and also hope that New Zealand and England don't catch up in order to qualify.
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