In a spectacular display of batting firepower, Australia Women secured a dominant eight-wicket victory over India Women in the first ODI of three-game series at New Chandigarh. Despite India posting a highly competitive total on the back of three impressive half-centuries, Australia’s chase was relentless and clinical, showcasing their depth and composure to seal the win with 35 balls to spare.
India’s innings built on a top-order foundation
Winning the toss and choosing to bat first on a pitch that looked conducive to scoring, India’s innings was a narrative of missed opportunities in the face of strong individual performances. The opening pair of Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana gave the hosts a fantastic start, building a partnership of 114 runs. Rawal played a more anchoring role, scoring a steady 64 off 96 deliveries, while her partner, Mandhana, was more aggressive with a brisk 58 from 63 balls, punctuated by six boundaries.
Harleen Deol then maintained the scoring rate with an effective 54 from 57 balls. However, a middle-order collapse, including captain Harmanpreet Kaur‘s dismissal for just 11, meant India couldn’t fully capitalize on their explosive start. Despite late cameos from Richa Ghosh (25) and Radha Yadav (19), the team could only muster a total of 281 for seven. The Australian bowling attack, led by Megan Schutt‘s two wickets for 45 runs, applied crucial pressure during the middle overs to keep India’s total in check.
Australia’s batting masterclass secures a clinical chase
Facing a challenging target of 282, Australia’s chase was a flawless exhibition of intent and execution. Despite the early loss of captain Alyssa Healy for 27 and a concerning moment when Ellyse Perry retired hurt, the visitors never looked troubled. The run-chase was powered by a magnificent knock from Phoebe Litchfield, who displayed a wide array of shots en route to her well-deserved 88 runs. Her aggressive approach, which included 14 boundaries, took the game away from India.
The true turning point, however, was the ice-cool, unbeaten partnership between Beth Mooney and Annabel Sutherland. Mooney demonstrated her renowned composure and calculated aggression to score 77 not out, while Sutherland provided the perfect foil, accelerating brilliantly with an unbeaten 54 from 51 balls. Their century stand for the third wicket completely dismantled the Indian bowling attack and extinguished any hope of a comeback. The comprehensive eight-wicket victory serves as a powerful message to their rivals and highlights Australia’s formidable strength and depth as they begin their series in India.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Australia didn’t break any sweat chasing this 281
Beat India by 8 wickets with 35 balls left #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/xcWe0Sv3q2
— Abhijeet ♞ (@TheYorkerBall) September 14, 2025
An early statement from Australia’s top order in the build towards the World Cup. That chase never looked in doubt.#INDvAUS
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) September 14, 2025
🏏 The Australian women’s cricket team is super strong, they even beat India at home ( chased 282, calm and composed, without any stress).
They’ll win the next World Cup easily, unless a miracle happens.
— زماں (@Delhiite_) September 14, 2025
No Grace Harris, no Georgia Voll, no Sophie Molineux, no Darcie Brown and still an emphatic win over the home side. The early signs are good.#goaussies #INDvAUS #CricketTwitter
— Fanta Pants (@FantaPants66055) September 14, 2025
Women’s cricket in Few Lines: 8-9 teams fight tooth & nail just to reach the final only for Australia to casually decide whether they wanna win by 5 wickets or 100 runs 🤣 #WomensCricket #AUSW#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/lPxmOtbRQW
— Shubham (@Shubham02_03) September 14, 2025
Australia women’s 🇦🇺 team beat India 🇮🇳 in first odi by 8 wickets. Australia women’s team chased 282 in just 44.1 overs
— Shivansh rajpal (@RajpalShiv46534) September 14, 2025
India has a big challenge – to prepare themselves before the WC coming this month end.
But Ausies’ Women’s side are here to teach Cricket to the World (Men’s & Women’s), Time & Again.#INDvAUS #AUSvIND— Anjali Singh (@iANJALISINGH) September 14, 2025
India Women made 281 on their home soil against the aussies
Who in turn literally ended the match in the 30th over itself (rest of it seemed for formality sake).
Shows you just how far ahead of the other teams the Aussies are.
+
Some of their Gun players were rested **— Vikram (@vikram_tuteja) September 14, 2025
This is the state of Indian women’s cricket team before worldcup in India
I dont know why IWCT simply fails infront of Australia
And also in ICC events
No big expectations from IWCT this team
If they can cross the group stage it will be a great achievement pic.twitter.com/lYDFpMoCgX
— s_k_f_e_r_o_z (@s_k_f_e_r_o_z) September 14, 2025
Even in this year’s women’s world cup, India will not win the title
Most probably, they will exit in group stage— Shreya Jha (@shreya_jha_s2) September 14, 2025
A comprehensive win for Australia. They have chased down 281 with almost 6 overs to spare 🔥#women #cricket #INDvAUS #australiacricket pic.twitter.com/qprzn2oZgj
— WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) September 14, 2025
Also READ: Tahlia McGrath explains why she believes Australia can defend their Women’s ODI World Cup crown
This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.
