India Women started their tour of Australia on a high note, following their recent ODI World Cup win, with a strong performance at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia Women were bowled out for just 133 runs, thanks to India’s disciplined bowling display.
Arundhati Reddy was the top performer, achieving career-best figures of 4/22, effectively dismantling the Australian batting line-up. India, in response, quickly built their chase and were ahead of the DLS target when rain halted play shortly after the first five overs.
“The Indian team has been playing good cricket recently. We’ve come close to winning games but now there’s a belief that we can beat anyone. That confidence helps us and we want to keep it going,” said Reddy, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Though Australia lost two wickets early, they looked stable at 68 for 2 after seven overs. However, the game shifted dramatically when captain Harmanpreet Kaur took a stunning catch to dismiss Ellyse Perry off Reddy’s bowling.
This wicket triggered a major collapse, with Australia losing eight wickets for just 65 runs. Georgia Wareham and Nicola Carey tried to stabilize the innings but couldn’t last long. The last five wickets fell for just 12 runs.
“Perry is a big wicket, and I think that catch changed the game for us. They lost two wickets straight after. Harmanpreet is an excellent fielder, and that catch gave us the momentum we needed,” Reddy added.
Reddy also praised Renuka Singh, who set a strong tone with her excellent bowling in the early overs. Renuka bowled three consecutive overs at the start, including a maiden, finishing with figures of 2/14. She took the important wickets of Beth Mooney and Annabel Sutherland.
“Renuka was outstanding today. Bowling a maiden over to Phoebe Litchfield was remarkable. She’s been a key player for India for years and showed her experience. We discussed the right lengths to bowl on these wickets a lot, and she deserves a lot of credit for her spell,” said Reddy.
This performance was Reddy’s second consecutive career-best in Australia, following her 4 for 26 in a previous ODI at the WACA in 2024, where she also took key wickets.
“I love playing in Australia. The vibes here are great. Growing up, I watched many Test matches during the Ashes and always wanted to play here. I’m off to a good start this time and hope to keep it up,” Reddy said.
