Image Credit- BCCI
Eleven catches were missed in Mumbai. India grassed seven first, and then, seemingly in retaliation, Australia put down four.
However, Phoebe Litchfield delivered a shocker for the visiting team right when
it mattered most, breaking an important 88-run partnership for India with 17
overs and 8 wickets left to win. That helped Australia clinch the series after
they narrowly defeated England by three runs in the second ODI.
Litchfield dived full stretch over to her right at
short extra cover, dismissing Jemimah Rodrigues for 44. Rodrigues shared that
stand with Richa Ghosh, who then made up lost time by hitting 96 off 117 balls
after being 54 off 84 at one stage.
However, with six wickets remaining and the game
hanging in the balance, even Ghosh’s catch was expertly recovered by Litchfield
as she moved to her left in a densely populated off-side ring. India needed 41
more from 38 deliveries.
That was pretty much it; India paid a heavy price for
their lethargic batsmanship and bad catches. Despite cramping, Ghosh
accelerated, but shortly after, Georgia Wareham—who had already removed
Rodrigues—scored five when Harmanpreet Kaur tickled behind Alyssa Healy. Deepti
Sharma and Ghosh had a 47-run partnership for the fifth wicket as they
attempted to counterattack, but Australia continued to strike often, ending
Deepti’s second five-for in an ODI.
India was only 22 runs away after having a chance till
47 overs into their chase. After dismissing Ghosh, Annabel Sutherland managed
to keep her composure and dismiss Pooja Vastrakar, who had just scored 62 runs
from 47 balls in the opening One-Day International. After that, India was never
able to recover, and they were left to wonder what would have happened if all
those catches had gone to hand.