Australia recorded a thumping 89-run victory over New Zealand to begin their Women's World Cup campaign on a high. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Australia didn't have a great first-half of their innings as they GOT restricted to 128/5 at one stage. The likes of Phoebe Litchfield (45), Alyssa Healy (5), Ellyse Perry (33) and Beth Mooney (12) all failed to post big scores and it looked like the defending champions wouldn't be able to post a big total.
However, Ashleigh Gardner had other ideas as she smacked the opposing bowlers all around the stadium and went on to bring up a fine century. She would eventually be dismissed after scoring 115 runs, however her knock massively helped Australia in reaching a formidable total of 326 before they were bundled out after 49.3 overs. Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu starred for New Zealand in the bowling department, picking up three scalps each.
New Zealand had a horrid start
In reply, New Zealand had a horrific start to the innings as they lost both openers Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer for ducks. But, skipper Sophie Devine ensured that the run-flow didn't stop and formed important partnerships with Amelia Kerr, Brooke Halliday and Izzy Gaze. Devine even went on to bring up her century, however it didn't prove to be enough for the White Ferns as they eventually got bowled out for 237 runs in 43.2 overs. Sophie Molineaux and Annabel Sutherland were the top performers for the Aussies with the ball, clinching three scalps each to decimate New Zealand's batting order. Gardner was adjudged as the Player of the Match for her fine hundred.
After the match, Devine admitted that the defeat is a tough pill to swallow, but also praised her side for putting in a great effort on the field.
ALSO READ: Ravichandran Ashwin shockingly goes unsold in ILT20 auction, only one Indian finds bidders
"It's bittersweet to be fair, I'd throw it all away to make sure we won. Just happy with the fight this team showed, a couple of years ago we would have thrown the towel in pretty early. But it's a hard one, you wanna be on the winning team, so hard to digest at the moment. It shows the mindset of the group that we stay in the fight. We probably missed line and length a bit on a flat surface. I just think the way players are able to adapt and play their role is what is making this team at the moment," Devine said after the match.
On the other hand, Australia skipper Alyssa Healy hailed her team for picking up the victory and showered praise on Gardner for hitting a brilliant century and for scoring a lot of runs while batting in the middle-order.
"While Soph was going you never feel comfortable, but credit to the girs for hanging in there. [aggression] It's a balance yeah, but we'll probably reflect as a batting group on where we can be a bit more precise. [Ash Gardner?] She's just continuing to mature as a cricketer, and it's really impressive to watch. And the fact that the middle order can get runs when we're in strife is a huge. As well as the lower order making runs for us. Awesome that Sophie can also bowl for us in the powerplay. Annabel also finally found her length out there and got rewarded for it," Healy said after the match.
Who will both teams be facing next?
Meanwhile, Australia will be facing-off against Sri Lanka in their next match on October 4 while New Zealand will be locking horns against South Africa on October 7 in their next fixture of the tournament.