AUS W VS NZ W ODI

Well then, Australia Women have announced themselves strongly in this World Cup. They have laid down an early marker in their title defense with a statement win. New Zealand Women showed fight in patches, but they will need to return to the drawing board to fix the areas where they went wrong. With that, two matches have flown by already in this ICC Women's World Cup 2025. Next up, we move all the way down south in Colombo for the first time in this tournament as Bangladesh Women prepare to go up against Pakistan Women at the famous R. Premadasa Stadium. That game will be played on October 2nd, Thursday, and the first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 3 pm IST (9.30 am GMT). But do make sure to join us a bit earlier and catch up on all the exciting pre-match analysis and build-up. Till then, take care, cheers!

The victorious skipper of Australia Women, Alyssa Healy, reflects on Australia's impressive batting display, acknowledging Sophie Devine's exceptional performance, which made things challenging for the Australian team. However, she praises her teammates for persevering and adjusting their strategy to achieve their target. Says that despite struggling in the middle stages, the team managed to post a total exceeding 300 runs. Healy commends Ashleigh Gardner's maturity as a cricketer, particularly her ability to score crucial hundreds in difficult situations. She expresses pride in Gardner's achievement, noting that if she hadn't scored a century, Kim Garth would have been a strong contender for player of the match. Healy also highlights the team's efforts to improve their power play, seeking wickets during this critical phase, which they struggled with in their previous series against India. She appreciates Sophie Devine's ability to bowl in the Powerplay and Annabel Sutherland's success in finding her length and getting rewarded with wickets. Looking ahead, Healy expresses optimism about building momentum in their next game in Colombo, where the conditions might differ. She praises the beautiful cricket ground, mentioning she would love to play here again.

The captain of New Zealand Women, Sophie Devine, reflects on the defeat. She calls it a bittersweet feeling overall. But mentions that she is happy to see the fight put on by her team. Admits that had it been a couple of years ago, they would have thrown the towels pretty early. Rues that it is a bit hard to digest. Also stresses that they should have held their nerves. Appreciates the way Amelia Kerr and Lea Tahuhu performed. Admits that they missed bowling with control on a flat surface. Still, she feels it was a chaseable total on this kind of a wicket, but highlights that they just leaked too many runs in the backend. Devine says that taking big wickets is vital for the team, and with Illing’s pace and left-arm swing, she adds a real spark. She adds that it will be exciting to see just how far Illing can take her game. Says it is a long way to go in the World Cup. Adds that it’s all about who can hold their nerves the longest. She stresses the importance of fighting back in both innings and notes that the wicket is excellent, with a superb outfield with small boundaries.

Australia's Ashleigh Gardner is adjudged as the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for her brilliant contribution with the bat. She scored a match-winning 115 off just 83 deliveries. She shares her thoughts on her century, saying it was special to reach the milestone. Says once she got in, she focused on playing to her strengths while knowing that runs were crucial for her team. She emphasizes that scoring over 300 was the bare minimum target, showcasing her understanding of the game's dynamics. Regarding New Zealand's chase, Ash praises Sophie Devine's batting, acknowledging that she made the game competitive and troubled the Australian bowlers. However, Ash believes chasing over 300 runs was always going to be a tough task. Ash also shared her thoughts on the competition, predicting that scoring 300 while batting first might become a trend. She expresses confidence in her team's ability to change the game from any situation, thanks to the talented individuals who can perform under pressure.

... THE PRESENTATION CEREMONY ...

Earlier in the game, Australia Women elected to bat first on what was deemed a belter of a wicket, as always, Indore has characteristically been. Healy did get out early after a start, but Litchfield and Perry timed the ball to perfection and helped the Aussies to get a really positive start in the Powerplay. But with Kerr weaving her magic immediately, and Tahuhu partnering her well with control, the Aussies slipped down to 128/5, losing their key batters in no time. The middle phase can be summed up by Australia forming crucial alliances and New Zealand striking back to break through at the right time. In the centre of it all, though, Ashleigh Gardner stood tall and smashed a valiant century and helped Australia's total push to a massive 326. Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu shared three wickets each, while Amelia Kerr and Bree Illing snapped two apiece. But in reality, barely anyone could control the run flow.

The real gulf between the two sides lay in how they began. New Zealand lost crucial wickets early on, which forced them to claw their way out of trouble before anything meaningful could materialise, which was a complete contrast to Australia’s fluent start. Also, bowling-wise, the Kiwi bowlers didn't dish out many variations and were a bit too predictable at times. And in the end, 327 was always going to be a mountain far too steep to scale.

Australia stitched together key partnerships throughout their innings, with five stands crossing the 40-run mark across the order. That steady rhythm ensured the runs kept flowing, even as wickets fell at regular intervals, with Ashleigh Gardner standing firm in the fight. New Zealand Women endured a similar tale, watching partnerships blossom only to be cut short, but Sophie Devine stayed unflinching at the crease with a valiant century, holding on like glue and keeping the flame of resistance burning from one end, while losing partners at the other end. There were certainly some spirited batting efforts from Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, and Izzy Gaze, yet in the grand scheme, it all proved just a touch too little to turn the tide.

In any format of cricket, occupying the crease is paramount and runs will come by. Once Kerr and Devine settled in, the runs began to trickle through with a few timely boundaries and of course, through proactive strike rotation. Just when the partnership threatened to tilt the momentum, Alana King broke the 75-run alliance, opening the door for Australia. From there, Alana King, Gardner, and Molineux dictated terms in the middle overs with frugal spells. Their greatest strength was in subtle variations that kept the batters guessing.

Chasing a target that looked nothing short of Everest, the White Ferns endured a calamitous start, losing both openers within the first two overs without a run to their name. The Australian bowlers extracted a bit more lateral movement than their counterparts, forcing the batters into survival mode early doors. It took the experience of Sophie Devine and the calmness of Amelia Kerr, that led to a percentage-driven cricket, to stitch together a much-needed recovery stand. Even so, their efforts could only drag the score to 36/2 by the end of the Powerplay.

An imperious victory for Australia Women, and with that, they’ve set their title defence rolling in swaggering style. They faced little resistance with the bat, and with the ball, apart from Sophie Devine’s lone century of defiance, no other Kiwi batter was permitted to climb beyond 35 runs individually. This is Australia Women's 16th consecutive victory against the White Ferns in ODIs.

OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! DONE AND DUSTED! A procession of wickets followed the departure of Sophie Devine. Tossed up, into the batter, around her pads. Bree stays leg side to it and goes for the slog but gets beaten on the inside. The ball gets a faint tickle off the inside of he bat and Healy takes a stunner gliding down her right. The umpire gives it out on the appeal from the Aussie skipper but Bree opts for DRS. The UltraEdge shows a clear spike as the ball is next to the bat of Bree Illing and the on-field decision of OUT stays. Australia Women have won this by 89 runs.

OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! DONE AND DUSTED! A procession of wickets followed the departure of Sophie Devine. Tossed up, into the batter, around her pads. Bree stays leg side to it and goes for the slog but gets beaten on the inside. The ball gets a faint tickle off the inside of he bat and Healy takes a stunner gliding down her right. The umpire gives it out on the appeal from the Aussie skipper but Bree opts for DRS. The UltraEdge shows a clear spike as the ball is next to the bat of Bree Illing and the on-field decision of OUT stays. Australia Women have won this by 89 runs.

Floated around middle and leg, Lea Tahuhu smoke this to long on for a single.

Good length on middle and off, Bree Illing pushes this back to the bowler.

Good length, angling into the left-hander, just outside off. Bree Illing gets beaten on the inside but the ball wasn't in the line of stumps and that saves her.

OUT! LBW! A double whammy for Sutherland as she gets her third wicket. On a back of a length, another nip-backer from Sutherland. Lands around off and middle and then cuts in towards the leg stump. Eden Carson is trapped in the crease and tries to block, but the ball skids and raps her front pad. A huge appeal for LBW and up goes the finger. Eden Carson has sent it upstairs for a review straightaway! UltraEdge shows nothing and the Ball Tracking comes up with three reds, with the ball projected to clunk the leg stump. Three reds and Eden Carson is gone. New Zealand Women are 9 wickets down, and Annabel Sutherland is on HAT TRICK now. Bree Illing is the last batter in for New Zealand Women!