Healy’s brilliant century powers Australia to 3-wicket win over India

Skipper Alyssa Healy produced a masterclass of batting, combining genius and grit, as Australia chased down the highest-ever total in a women’s ODI, securing a three-wicket victory over India in their World Cup clash here on Sunday.

Healy scored a scintillating 142 off 107 balls, including 21 fours and three sixes, as the seven-time champions finished at 331 for seven, chasing India’s impressive 330, which featured fifties from Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal. The previous record for the highest successful chase in women’s ODI cricket was 302 by Sri Lanka against South Africa in 2024.

With this win, Australia moved to the top of the table with seven points, while India remained third with four points.

Healy’s Mastery at the Crease

Healy’s innings was a display of exquisite timing and placement, thanks to her supple wrists, allowing her to find gaps and pierce the field with precision. Prior to this match, she had struggled against pacer Kranti Gaud, but tonight she turned the tables, smashing Gaud for a six and three consecutive fours in a single over.

Sneh Rana tried to bowl fuller lengths to restrict Healy, but the Australian captain countered with sweeps and clever placements, finding spaces between square leg, mid-wicket, and behind fine leg. When Rana tried to vary the pace, Healy slog-swept her off-spin for a six, reaching her fifty in just 35 balls — the fastest in this tournament edition.

Amid Australia’s dominance, left-arm spinner Sri Charani bowled a brilliant spell of 10-1-41-3, briefly giving India control in the middle overs. Charani dismissed Phoebe Litchfield, who had shared a cavalier 85-run opening stand with Healy, and Annabel Sutherland, deceiving her with a clever quicker ball.

Veteran Ellyse Perry’s temporary retirement hurt Australia, with the required run rate climbing past seven for the first time. However, Healy found support in Ashleigh Gardner (45), adding 95 runs for the fourth wicket to stabilize the chase. Healy eventually reached her sixth WODI century, her first as captain, with a single off Deepti Sharma, acknowledging the milestone with a simple bat wave. She was later dismissed attempting a cut off Charani, caught by substitute Radha Yadav at the circle’s edge.

Healy’s dismissal caused a brief wobble as Australia lost Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, and Sophie Molineux, falling to 303 for seven from 265 for three. Perry returned unbeaten with 47 to guide Australia home.

India’s Strong Total

Earlier, India recovered from a sluggish start through elegant fifties from Mandhana (80 off 66 balls) and Rawal (75 off 96 balls), posting a competitive 330 on a pitch offering little assistance to the Australian bowlers. Their 155-run opening stand in 24.3 overs atoned for earlier failures against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and South Africa. Mandhana combined elegance with aggression, taking time to settle before punishing left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux (3/75) for 18 runs in her first over, including a six and two fours. Rawal complemented Mandhana with precise timing and placement, hitting off-spinner Gardner for two consecutive fours.

Mandhana reached her fifty in 46 balls, with Rawal following shortly after off 69 balls. During her innings, Mandhana also achieved the milestone of 5,000 WODI runs, becoming the fastest and youngest player to do so. Mandhana and Rawal registered their sixth 100-run partnership in 21 innings, just one short of India’s record of seven partnerships between Purnima Rau and Mithali Raj (34 innings).

Mandhana’s dismissal off a slog sweep to Litchfield briefly allowed Australia to fight back, claiming Rawal, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, and Harleen Deol. India slumped to 240 for four in the 38th over but Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues added 54 runs for the fifth wicket, pushing India past 300. Ghosh eventually holed out in the deep off pacer Sutherland (5/40), who used clever back-of-the-hand slower deliveries to pick up late wickets.