Smriti Mandhana waltzed her way to the fastest century by an Indian while Pratika Rawal compiled her maiden hundred as India amassed 435/5, their highest-ever total in the 50-over format, in the third and final women’s ODI against Ireland in Rajkot on Wednesday. The stand-in skipper Smriti’s scintillating 135 (80 balls), her 10th ODI century, came off just 70 deliveries, set the tone for India breaching the 400-run mark for the first time, joining Australia and New Zealand in that elite list.

It was also the fourth-highest total in women’s ODI, and Smriti also surpassed Harmanpreet Kaur’s 87-ball hundred mark against South Africa last year.

Smriti reached her 31st ODI fifty in 39 balls, her second half-century of the series and the southpaw was not afraid to take the aerial route over the ‘V’ and clear the 30-yard circle in an innings studded with seven sixes and 12 fours.

Pratika, a Delhi cricketer representing Railways, complemented her captain brilliantly with a measured knock, making the occasion even more special by notching her maiden international century in her sixth innings. She made 154 from 129 balls.

The 24-year-old, who debuted in the previous series against the West Indies, had already notched three fifties in four innings.

This time, Pratika made it count, reaching a run-a-ball hundred before shifting gears with authority.

Pratika relied on precise placement and deft touches in the point region and she showed her aggression only after reaching the ton, hitting Freya Sargent for her first six. She also hit 20 boundaries.

Demonstrating her hunger for a bigger knock, she powered her way to an impressive 150, showcasing a perfect blend of composure and aggression.

Their 233-run partnership made them only the fourth Indian pair to record a 200-run stand in Women’s ODIs.

The last such partnership was the record-breaking 320-run opening stand by Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut against Ireland in 2017.

It was also the third instance of both Indian openers scoring hundreds in a Women’s ODI, following Reshma Gandhi and Mithali Raj’s feat at Milton Keynes in 1999 and Deepti and Raut’s partnership at Potchefstroom in 2017 — all against Ireland.

The duo added 90 runs during the Power Play and 67 in the subsequent 10 overs, maintaining a brisk scoring rate.

The partnership marked their fourth 100-run stand in six innings.

Smriti reached her first century of the calendar year with an exquisite drive off Arlene Kelly.

Kelly bore the brunt of Smriti’s onslaught, conceding successive sixes in one over.

Even Kelly’s variations, including back-of-the-hand deliveries, were dispatched with ease, with Smriti following a six with another boundary in the 24th over.

Smriti also took on Ireland’s leading bowler, Orla Prendergast, smashing her for a boundary down the ground and a towering six over long-on, leaving the Irish attack in tatters.

Promoted to No. 3, keeper-batter Richa Ghosh also returned to form, getting to a 37-ball fifty, her fifth in ODIs.

Ireland used seven bowlers but they struggled against India’s batting fury and sloppy fielding added to their misery. 

Jemimah Rodrigues scored her maiden century in 50-over cricket as Indian top order pulverised a listless Ireland to post a mammoth 370 for 5 in the second Women’s ODI in Rajkot on Sunday. It was the elegant skipper Smriti Mandhana, who was off the blocks in a flash to score 73 off just 54 balls, laid the foundation while Rodrigues’ first hundred —102 off 91 balls – ensured a smooth finish for the hosts. Newcomer Patika Rawal (67 off 61 balls) and seasoned Harleen Deol (89 off 84 balls) also made merry of a sub-par bowling attack.

Notably, this is the first time in India Women’s 48-year ODI history that they have touched the milestone of 370 runs. The side first played an ODI game back on January 1, 1978 against England.

Indian total was based on two big stands — 156 off 19 overs between Mandhana and Rawal and another 183 off 28 overs between Rodrigues and Deol.

In all, Indian batters smashed an astounding 44 boundaries and three sixes in 50 overs.

As far as Rodrigues was concerned, her record has been one that flattered to deceive with just six half-centuries across 40 games.

But once she got the boundary off medium pacer Arlene Kelly, the relief was palpable as she did a mock guitar playing act with her willow. “It has been a long wait to get this hundred. Glad that the team gave me a role at No. 4 and I could deliver,” Rodrigues told broadcasters Star Sports at the innings break.

“Today, the important thing for me was to be till the 50th over. Getting runs is not a problem, I am good at that, but being till the end was important and glad I could do that.” She said during their 183-run stand, it took some time for her and Deol to assess the nature of the track.

“Having Harleen there, initially we took time to assess the conditions. I know I can accelerate but while I took time, Harleen spoke to me to keep believing.

“We can’t take any team lightly, we have followed domestic cricket here, 390 has been chased,” she said.

Smriti Mandhana in action© BCCI

File image of Smriti Mandhana.© BCCI

India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has surged three places to second in the latest ICC Women’s ODI rankings while climbing one spot to third among T20I batters, following her stellar displays against Australia and the West Indies. The left-hander struck 105 in the final match of the series against Australia in Perth and 54 in the first game of the ongoing T20I rubber against the West Indies in Mumbai to headline the latest rankings update released here on Tuesday.

Mandhana is the lone Indian batter in the top 10 as her skipper Harmanpreet Kaur moved down two spots to 13th while Jemimah Rodrigues climbed six places to 15th and Harleen Deol moved up nine rungs to 64th Among bowlers, Deepti Sharma has slipped two spots to five.

India seam bowler Arundhati Reddy has shot up 48 places to 51st after a haul of four for 26 while Renuka Thakur has moved up from 28th to joint 26th.

England opener Tammy Beaumont advanced two places to 11th after an unbeaten 65 helped clinch the South Africa series 2-1.

Ashleigh Gardner has moved up one place to 16th with a 50 in Perth, Tahlia McGrath has progressed from 32nd to 24th with an unbeaten 56, and Annabell Sutherland is up 15 places to 29th after a match-winning 110.

Gardner is also up two places to a career-best-equalling third position in the bowling rankings with a haul of five for 30 and has moved up from fourth to second in the all-rounders’ list. Sutherland is in the top 20 of the bowling rankings.

Others to move up in this list include South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp, who has gained two slots to reach fourth position after a haul of three for 24, and the England trio of Charlie Dean (up two places to seventh), Nat Sciver Brunt (up one place to 16th) and Lauren Bell (up four places to 21st)

Kaur moves back into top 10

In the T20I rankings, Kaur is in the top 10 and Rodrigues has gained six slots to reach 15th position after a fine 73 against the West Indies.

In the bowling rankings, Deepti has moved up two places to take the second position in the bowling rankings and Titas Sadhu is up to 52nd.

For the West Indies, all-rounder Deandra Dottin has advanced 21 places to 59th after a half-century while Qiana Joseph (up 22 places to 65th among batters) and Karishma Ramharack (up six places to 20th among bowlers) are other notable gainers.

India put up a dismal show with the bat as Australia stamped their superiority over the visitors with a five-wicket win in the first Women’s ODI on Thursday. Opting to bat, India collapsed to 100 all out in 34.2 overs with Australia pacer Megan Schutt returning an impressive five-wicket haul. Australia did experience a minor stutter in the run chase, when Renuka Thakur struck twice in the same over, before coasting to victory in 16.2 overs. Debutant opener Georgia Voll (46 not out off 42 balls) produced a measured knock to ensure a comfortable win. Her effort included a six off Renuka in the cow corner region.

Her opening partner Phoebe Litchfield (35 off 29 balls) was the aggressor in their 48-run stand, smashing six fours in a row, four of those coming off Renuka and two off debutant pacer Titas Sadhu.

The second ODI will be played at the Allan Border Field on December 8.

Jemimah Rodrigues, who batted at number five, top-scored for India with a 23 off 42 balls.

Opting to bat, India failed to get off the blocks, losing the openers in the first seven overs. Priya Punia (3 off 17), playing in place of the dropped Shafali Verma, looked totally out of sorts in her comeback game.

Smriti Mandha (8 off 9) was caught behind, chasing a wide outswinger from Schutt. Punia, in her attempt to break the shackles, was caught at backward point off Schutt.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (23 off 42) was trapped in front by pacer Annabel Sutherland. Rodrigues looked comfortable in the middle until she was bowled by Kim Grath as she tried to run a delivery down to the third man.

From 62 for three, India were all out for 100 in 34.2 overs. Their last three batters got out with the score reading 100 on the board.

Schutt completed her maiden five wicket haul by castling Priya Mishra.

It was a batting performance to forget for India.

Brief Scores: India Women: 100 all out in 34.2 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 23; Megan Schutt 5/19).

Australia 102/5 in 16.2 overs (Georgia Voll 46 not out; Renuka Thakur 3/45).

India will aim to address their batting inconsistency in the upcoming women’s ODI series against the mighty Australia, starting here Thursday, aiming to finalise their combination ahead of the Women’s World Cup next year. The Indian team heads Down Under after securing a 2-1 home ODI series win over New Zealand. However, it was fairly evident that India’s batting was not in top shape. In a bid to rejig stuff the tourists have dropped out-of-form opener Shafali Verma from the squad. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side would know that it has a huge task cut out against Australia who have historically dominated them in 50-overs cricket.

Their record Down Under is dismal, with just four wins out of sixteen WODIs. In the last series in 2021, Australia defeated India 2-1 in the three-match contest.

The series will give skipper Kaur and coach Amol Majumdar a perfect opportunity to bolster their preparations for the ODI World Cup at home next year.

On the other hand, Australia will be without regular skipper Alyssa Healy, who is nursing a knee injury. Additionally, the hosts have not played in this format for the past nine months and will be aiming to shake off the rust.

For India, the experienced Smriti Mandhana will bear the responsibility of providing a solid start with the bat.

Apart from the two single digit scores, the flamboyant opener has been in fine form this year, scoring 448 runs at an impressive average of around 75 in her last six ODIs.

Kaur’s form will be a significant concern for India, as the explosive batter has struggled with consistency this year. With much at stake, her captaincy and batting have come under scrutiny following India’s early exit from the T20 World Cup.

Additionally, she will face increased pressure after failing to score in double figures in any of the three matches in the last ODI series against Australia.

The likes of Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma will also be keen to get big scores.

The Indian team will miss wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia, who suffered a wrist injury during the Women’s Big Bash League.

Young Uma Chetry, who has been included in the team in her place, will want to make an impression in her debut ODI series.

Big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Richa Ghosh has returned to the team as have Harleen Deol, Titas Sadhu and Minnu Mani.

Deepti bowled at an economy rate of 3.6 against New Zealand and she would like to continue this performance. Radha Yadav too had a good series against he Kiwis and would want to continue in the same vein.

Aggressive fast bowler Saima Thakor, who made her debut against New Zealand, will also be desperate to leave a mark with her performance.

Australia will be led by pace all-rounder Tahlia McGrath, who will be captaining the national side for the first time in a full series.

Batter Georgia Voll has been given her debut in place of Healy, while veteran Elise Perry will be eyeing the 4,000-run milestone in ODIs, as she is just 42 runs away.

The weather is expected to be hot and humid in Brisbane and there is also a possibility of light rain.

Squads: India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Priya Punia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Uma Chetry, Richa Ghosh (wk), Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Radha Yadav, Titas Sadhu, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Saima Thakor

Australia: Tahlia McGrath (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Darcie Brown, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.

Match starts 8:50am IST.

India Women vs New Zealand Women Live Streaming 1st ODI: Where To Watch© X (Twitter)

Representative Image© AFP

India vs Australia LIVE: Let’s take a look at the squads!

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, D Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, S Sajana