Arundhati Reddy and Smriti Mandhana’s Effort in Vain as Australia Complete the Whitewash

The Third ODI between Australia and India saw some amazing performances from both teams but only one team Came in victorious as Australia clinched the series 3-0 at their home, As India Disappoints in yet another major series, here is the review of Australia vs India 3rd ODI.

Arundhati Reddy Gives a Head Start

India's bowling has been under par in this series. Despite claiming wickets, they have lacked consistency in maintaining a good line and length. This issue was addressed with the inclusion of medium-pace bowler Arundhati Reddy in the last ODI. She proved to be lethal, and the Australian top-order batters struggled against her.

Reddy was benched in the first two matches but was given a chance in the third match and made the most of that opportunity. She was brought on to bowl straight after the powerplay and immediately dismissed the in-form Georgia Voll, bowling her out for 26 runs off 30 balls. Reddy did not stop there; just four balls later, she took the wicket of another in-form batter, Phoebe Litchfield, dismissing her for 25 runs off 33 balls. 

This strong start was crucial, and the Indian camp might regret not using Arundhati in the first two matches. She continued to take wickets in every over, claiming her third wicket by removing Ellyse Perry and her fourth by getting Beth Mooney out in the subsequent over. This wicket-taking spree allowed India to transition from 58 runs without loss to 78 for 4 wickets.

Following this, the Australian batters played more cautiously against Reddy's deliveries, prompting a bowling change. However, Australia then took control, with Annabel Sutherland scoring 110 runs off 95 balls and fifties from Ashleigh Gardner and Tahlia McGrath, leading Australia to a total of 298 runs for 6 wickets in 50 overs. 

Despite Reddy's impressive figures of 4 wickets for 26 runs in her 10 overs, the rest of the Indian bowlers failed to capitalize on the momentum she created, continuing their poor form. Smart batting from Australia's lower middle-order batters helped them post a massive total on the board.

Smriti Mandhana Record Century in Vain

The chase was on, with 299 runs to achieve in order to avoid a whitewash. Both Richa Ghosh and Smriti Mandhana walked onto the field as the Indian openers. The story unfolded as India lost Richa Ghosh for just 2 runs, despite a decent start from Mandhana at the other end. Harleen Deol followed and formed a good partnership with Mandhana, who was striking the ball well while Deol played a supporting role. Mandhana reached her first fifty of the series, and the pair put together a hundred-run stand, the first for India in this series, looking in firm control. 

However, Australia soon got their breakthrough, dismissing the well-settled Harleen Deol for 39 runs off 64 balls. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then walked in, but her contribution was again under par as she was dismissed for just 12 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues joined Mandhana, and both played some impressive shots. Jemimah looked good and continued her strong form, while Smriti Mandhana reached her century. This marked her 9th century in ODIs and her 4th in this calendar year, making her the first woman to score four centuries in a calendar year in ODIs. 

Unfortunately, after reaching her century 105(109), Mandhana’s innings was cut short when she was dismissed by Ashleigh Gardner. This wicket was a significant turning point in the match, as Australia continued to take wickets, reducing India from 189/3 to 215/10. They easily finished off the innings and completed a series whitewash against the Indian team.

Despite the efforts from Mandhana and Arundhati Reddy, the match ended in vain as Australia celebrated another victory at home. Annabel Sutherland was awarded Player of the Match as well as Player of the Series for her all-round contributions.

As for the Indian team, they need to reassess their entire setup. More than half of the players failed in both batting and bowling, resulting in a complete disappointment for the Indian team, which struggled to make an impact during the overseas tour. Hopefully, they will address these issues and make a strong comeback in the upcoming home series against the West Indies