When head coach Amol Muzumdar took over the reins, he said that the fielding and fitness of the players is a non-negotiable area. Indian fielders looked patchy during the T20I series against England which kickstarted the home season. But the fielding has improved of late and Sneh Rana’s stunning catch to dismiss Australia captain Alyssa Healy is a perfect example of that.
The catch was taken in the first over of the run chase in the first ODI at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After two deliveries that came back in, Renuka Singh pitched one up that moved away from Healy. She took the bait and went for the drive away from her body. A thick edge went to the gully fielder Rana who flew to her left and completed the catch with both hands. The opener had to depart for a three-ball duck in the run chase of 283.
Earlier, Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first in the ODI series opener. After Shafali Verma fell early, Richa Ghosh got a promotion up the order. Ghosh departed after scoring 21 runs from 20 balls. Then Ashleigh Gardner got the wicket of Harmanpreet for a single-digit score. Yastika Bhatia missed out on her half-century by just one run as she got out off Georgia Wareham's full toss. Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur got starts but could not convert them into big scores. Rana could not do much with the bat and got bowled by Megan Schutt after scoring a single run.
Meanwhile, Jemimah Rodrigues had already completed her half-century. From 182/7, India needed a partnership and Pooja Vastrakar launched a counterattack. Vastrakar dealt in boundaries. She hit the first six of the match as well. Rodrigues could not score her maiden ODI century. She fell to Gardner in the 47th over. She scored 82 runs from 77 balls featuring seven fours.
Vastrakar continued to attack and reached her half-century from just 39 balls. She remained unbeaten for 62 off 46 deliveries. Her fighting knock took the hosts to a fighting total of 282/8. Vastrakar created the record for the highest score for a no.9 batter in ODIs.
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