Australian captain Alyssa Healy’s masterful 142 off 107 balls led her team to a historic three-wicket victory over India in their World Cup match on Sunday, successfully chasing down 331 runs — the highest-ever run chase in women’s ODI cricket. The chase surpassed the previous record of 302 runs set by Sri Lanka against South Africa in 2024, putting Australia at the top of the tournament table with seven points while India remained third with four. points.Healy’s innings included 21 boundaries and three sixes, demonstrating exceptional placement and timing. She particularly dominated Indian pacer Kranti Gaud, hitting a six and three fours in a single over.Against Sneh Rana’s fuller-length deliveries, Healy effectively used sweep shots to find gaps between square leg and mid-wicket. She reached her fifty in 35 balls, the fastest in this tournament.Sri Charani provided some resistance for India with impressive figures of 10-1-41-3, including the crucial wickets of Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland.Healy found strong support in Ashleigh Gardner, who contributed 45 runs in their 95-run partnership for the fourth wicket. This partnership proved crucial after Ellyse Perry had to retire hurt.The Australian captain reached her sixth WODI hundred, her first as captain, with a single off Deepti Sharma. She was eventually caught by substitute Radha Yadav off Charani’s bowling.Australia experienced some tension after Healy’s dismissal, losing Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, and Sophie Molineux in quick succession. However, Perry returned to complete the chase with an unbeaten 47.Earlier, India’s innings was anchored by impressive half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal. Their 155-run opening partnership in 24.3 overs set a strong foundation for India’s total of 330.Mandhana’s aggressive 80 off 66 balls included a particularly productive over against Sophie Molineux, where she scored 18 runs with a six and two fours.Rawal contributed 75 runs off 96 balls, showing occasional flair against spinner Gardner. Their partnership marked their sixth 100-run stand in 21 innings, approaching India’s record of seven between Purnima Raut and Mithali Raj.During her innings, 29-year-old Mandhana achieved the milestone of 5000 runs in WODIs, becoming the fastest and youngest player to reach this mark.India’s momentum briefly faltered after Mandhana’s dismissal, losing Rawal, captain Harmanpreet Kaur, and Harleen Deol in quick succession, leaving them at 240 for four in the 38th over.Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues stabilized the innings with a 54-run partnership for the fifth wicket, helping India push towards their final total.Annabel Sutherland claimed impressive figures of 5/40, using effective slower deliveries in the death overs to restrict India’s total to 330.The match highlighted Australia’s batting depth and chase capabilities, while India’s strong batting performance ultimately proved insufficient to secure victory.
