IND W vs AUS W | Twitter reacts as Australia seal ODI series despite Richa Ghosh heroics

‌Heading into the second ODI with a win under their belt, Australian captain, Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to bat first on a sunny afternoon. The innings kicked off with a dropped catch on the second ball which was followed by many as the play progressed. Pooja Vastrakar cleaned up the opposition skipper in the first ball of the ninth over but Ellyse Perry joined Phoebe Litchfield in the middle to build a 77-run second wicket stand. The middle overs phase saw the Indian bowlers run through the Aussie backbone, initiating with the breakthrough of Perry (50) in the 24th over. After Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield (63) followed suit, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham and Alana King contributed in 20s to help the scoreboard reach 258 runs while Deepti Sharma was the peak of the Indian bowlers with a fifer.

In pursuit of the chase, the Indian openers - Yastika Bhatia and Smriti Mandhana jolted a brisk 37-run stand for the first wicket before the former was trapped in front off Kim Garth. Subsequently, a struggling Richa Ghosh got well set but lost on-song Mandhana (34) in 16th over. Jemimah Rodrigues entered the fray and glued an 88-run third wicket stand, setting the path for a chase. Although Ghosh struggled with cramps, she ensured that the scoreboard kept sprinting despite losing Harmanpreet Kaur. The scoreboard read 218/5 when the wicketkeeper-batter fell short of her maiden ODI ton by just four runs. The final powerplay transpired into an evenly poised contest when the hosts kept losing wickets from one end with Deepti Sharma holding the other end. The equation curtailed down to 19 needed off the final couple of overs and the experienced Ashleigh Gardner removed concussion substitute Harleen Deol on the final ball after conceding just 3 runs. Eventually, India fell short by three runs as Deepti and Shreyanka Patil managed to pull just 12 runs, handing an early series victory to the mighty Aussies.

That's big loss!

Didn't expect this!

Comeback stronger India please!

Series win it is!

It was so close!

Yes! Gotta accept it!

She needs to think of it!

Agreed! Richa should have stayed!

For everyone!