India recorded its second successive victory over Australia when it defeated the dethroned world champions by three wickets in the third-fourth play-off at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 at Bankstown Oval on Saturday. In a match reduced to 46-over-a-side, due to rain, Australia was all out for 142 in 44.4 overs. India reached the victory target with 13 balls and three wickets to spare.
Batting first after winning the toss, Australia was in trouble at 27-2 when heavy rain came down and stopped play. When the match resumed, the umpires decided to reduce the match to 46 overs per side but Australia plunged into deeper trouble when play started as it slipped to 63-5 in 27 overs.
At that stage, captain Karen Rolton and Lisa Sthalekar rescued their side with a gutsy 60-run partnership that allowed the home team to reach 144 all out in 44.4 overs. Rolton finished as the top scorer with a fine 52 that came off 93 balls and included a six and a four while Sthalekar contributed 30 from 32 balls with two fours.
For India, wickets were evenly shared between Jhulan Goswami (2-21), Priyanka Roy (2-21), Rumeli Dhar (2-24) and Gouher Sultana (2-27).
India, in its target chase, put together small but useful partnerships to achieve the target in 43.5 overs. Sulakshana Naik finished as the top scorer with 28 while Rumeli Dhar chipped in with a priceless 24 not out.
In the fifth-sixth play-off, the West Indies avenged for its four-wicket defeat last Saturday when it defeated Pakistan by three wickets in the fifth-sixth play-off. By virtue of this win, the West Indies retained its fifth-placed ranking while Pakistan jumps from eighth to sixth spot.
The star of the match was West Indies’ Shanel Daley who claimed her career-best 4-29 to dismiss Pakistan for 131 all out in 46.3 overs. She then returned to contribute 24 with the bat as the West Indies achieved victory with 3.3 overs to spare.
ICC Women's World Cup 2009 News- Saturday, March 21, 2009 5:54:49 AM
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