Australia scripted history as they chased down a massive target of 331 to get the better of India by three wickets with an over to spare in their Women's World Cup 2025 clash at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
Australia record highest successful run chase in women's ODI history
This historic victory marked the highest successful run chase in women's ODI history, powered by a scintillating, captain's knock by Alyssa Healy, who cracked a match-winning 142 off 107 balls. Notably, the previous highest successful run chase was recorded by Sri Lanka, who went past 302 against South Africa back in 2024.
Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal's exploits in vain
India posted a formidable total of 330 in 48.5 overs. The platform was brilliantly laid by the opening pair of Smriti Mandhana (80 off 66) and Pratika Rawal (75 off 96), who put together the tournament’s first century stand—a 155-run partnership. Crucial middle and lower-order contributions came from Harleen Deol (38), skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (22), Jemimah Rodrigues (33), Richa Ghosh (32), and Amanjot Kaur (16), ensuring India reached a highly competitive score, despite late wickets curtailing a potential higher total. For Australia, Annabel Sutherland was the standout bowler with exceptional figures of 5/40, supported well by Sophie Molineux (3/75) and Ashleigh Gardner (1/15).
The outcome of the record chase saw Australia climb to the top of the table with seven points, while India remained in third position with four points.
Alyssa Healy's masterclass century
Captain Alyssa Healy's batting was a masterclass in pristine ball-hitting, a result of her wonderfully supple wrists that allowed the right-hander to place the ball with surgical precision. Before this game, Healy had a rather subdued record against Indian pacer Kranti Gaud, but on this night, she effectively broke the stranglehold by biffing the bowler for a six and three fours in a single over. Healy was equally effective against spin; when Sneh Rana tried bowling fuller lengths to cramp her for room, the Australian responded by executing brilliant sweeps, consistently finding the often vacant arc between square leg, mid-wicket, or behind fine leg. Even when Rana tried to bowl at a faster pace, Healy executed a confident slog-sweep for a six, ensuring the Australians kept motoring well ahead of the required run rate. Her dominance was capped by achieving her fifty in just 35 balls, the fastest in this edition of the tournament.
Indian fightback and Australian resilience
Amidst the Australian domination, local girl Sri Charani bowled an excellent spell of left-arm spin (10-1-41-3) that offered India a semblance of control during the middle overs, especially given the team was playing without a sixth bowling option. Charani grabbed the crucial wickets of Phoebe Litchfield, who had assisted Healy in a cavalier 85-run opening stand, and Annabel Sutherland, whom she foxed with a clever, quicker straight ball that crashed into the stumps.
The chase seemed to tighten when veteran Ellyse Perry retired hurt, causing the required rate to tick past seven for the first time. However, Healy found a sensible and aggressive partner in Ashleigh Gardner (45). The pair steadied the innings and added a vital 95 runs for the fourth wicket, successfully pulling the Australians back into the ascendancy to set up the historic win.