Key events
WICKET! Rana b Wareham 44, India 217-9
44th over: India 217-9 (Charani 4)
Finally, Georgia Wareham gets her moment. The third ball of the over is clubbed by Charani to deep midwicket where Alana King spills the catch, very rude to do from your fellow leg-spinner. The fifth one goes right throw Rana yet somehow evades the stumps, the keeper, and goes for four byes. And the sixth has Rana step outside off stump, miss the straight skidding ball, and turn back to see it ricochet from her pad back onto the stumps.
43rd over: India 210-8 (Rana 43, Charani 2) A couple of runs from the McGrath over, as the spiral towards oblivion continues.
42nd over: India 208-8 (Rana 41, Charani 2) It might be getting damp out there in Hobart at night time, King has another ball slip from her hand and arc down as a high full toss, but terrific work from Gardner at deep midwicket stops the boundary and saves two. She comes hurtling across and gets one hand to it as she flicks it behind her body nad keeps it in, then loses the ball for a minute but tracks it down before it can roll towards the rope in a different direction.
Then a near run out, Wareham swooping at point and a direct hit on one stump, but Mooney has broken the other bail before the ball arrived! What is going on with the keeper tonight? Charani is home anyway.
41st over: India 205-8 (Rana 38, Charani 2) Another medical delay: Wareham in the deep sends a long throw back towards Tahlia McGrath, the bowler, who lets the throw go. That’s unfortunate for Rana, who has just strolled a single and has her back to the ball. It hits her right on the point of the elbow, and magic spray is required. Wareham is not impressed, and why would she be, after making no runs and not getting a bowl. “Come off it,” seems to be indicated by her facial expression.
40th over: India 200-8 (Rana 33, Charani 2) Shree Charani, the lanky curly-headed spinner, is next in the middle, away with two runs to point.
WICKET! Deepti Sharma lbw King 29, India 198-8
A yuck end to a yuck innings. King has bowled nicely, but gets a wicket with a slice of luck. A big looping full toss, dipping on Deepti, who tries to sweep it and misses. King can at least say that she was on line. It hits the batters pads on the way down, not quite as bad as Chris Rogers at Lord’s but of that parish, and it would have gone on to hit the stumps. Deepti Sharma has made 29 from 47 balls in a chase of 410, and the practical application of that innings and that approach is anyone’s guess.
39th over: India 198-7 (Deepti 29, Rana 33) May we pose a question to the Indian team? To the effect of, what, exactly, is the point of this exercise? Deepti Sharma is a player who once rather famously made 181 in this format, but tonight she has not played a single shot in anger. Sneh Rana is defending balls on off stump. What is the point? There’s no draw available. No bonus points to save or avoid conceding. No net run rate calculation. You’re still 212 runs from victory. You’re not going to win it, but the aim of the game is to score. Why not try? “Playing for pride” isn’t going to mean much if you lose by 180 after batting 50 overs or lose by 180 after batting 40 overs.
38th over: India 195-7 (Deepti 27, Rana 32) Alana King is back, with three overs remaining. She was taken off earlier with figures of 3 for 22 and then we had a Hamilton net session and faffed about with the Healy situation. Would King have wanted a break, or preferred to Adam Dale it and bowl all 10 on the trot? She’s not purring after the break, slipping one delivery outside leg stump in such a way that Rana can sweep it from a standing position for four through fine leg.
37th over: India 182-7 (Deepti 26, Rana 24) A little shovel-pull from Rana adds four from Tahlia McGrath. The bowler tries a bouncer, too high, and Mooney misses it, giving up three wides. It’s been a very untidy night for Mooney.
36th over: India 182-7 (Deepti 26, Rana 24) Deepti Sharma’s slow night adds a second boundary, this time through fine leg from Hamilton.
35th over: India 177-7 (Deepti 22, Rana 23) Maybe Healy should have left the bowling at one over. She’s carrying on for a second. It’s not great stuff. Drag down, slammed through cover by Deepti for four. Huge full toss, then another. Still finds a few dot balls to close the over, not ones that are bowled very well, but a bit short and not bouncing much and limping through. I suspect that Deepti just doesn’t want to be the answer to a trivia question about Healy’s one wicket.
34th over: India 171-7 (Deepti 17, Rana 22) Hamilton with her short ball and she badges Deepti Sharma. Attempted hook, maybe a nick on it, helmet. After a long concussion check we continue, and Hamilton bounces Rana first ball back. All in tangles trying to dodge that. This is interesting ahead of the Test match, given Hamilton is in the frame to play. Only the leg bye from the over, via the helmet deflection, so technically that’s a maiden.
Alyssa Healy is having a bowl
33rd over: India 170-7 (Deepti 17, Rana 22) She’s the captain, it’s her last one-day game, and India need 246 from 18 overs. So why not! Healy brings herself on. She’ll be bowling some off-breaks, by the looks. Bad stuff first ball, dragged down and leg side, and Sneh Rana flips it fine for four.
Much better second ball, some decent shape and it pitches outside the off stump, dot to point, dot to cover. A couple of singles, a ball that stays low, and the over goes for six – so that’s a win for the bowling side. Beyond her action through the crease, the real standout is when a throw comes in at the non-striker’s end and Healy casually receives the ball in one hand and with one smooth backhand motion knocks the bails off. That’s craft.
32nd over: India 164-7 (Deepti 16, Rana 17) Another decent over for Hamilton, going up for an lbw shout but it was nicked.
31st over: India 162-7 (Deepti 15, Rana 16) At last, some movement. Sneh Rana cracks a drive shot from Gardner, running and hitting through long-off for four. Another boundary a few balls later, Gardner trying the old Shane Warne variation, the spinner bowling a bouncer. Flicks the grip to seam-up it looks like and bangs it halfway down. But Rana nails her cut shot. So, 10 from the over, which is great when you don’t need 13 an over.
30th over: India 152-7 (Deepti 14, Rana 7) Lucy Hamilton is back. Maybe call her Lucky Hamilton, walking out on debut with 400 to defend. Easing into top level cricket. She’s testing out the middle portion of the pitch, trying her shorter ball, then what looks like a slower ball variation, running through her repertoire.
29th over: India 148-7 (Deepti 12, Rana 5) Rather going through the motions here, as the batters collect four singles from Gardner. No Georgia Wareham tonight among the six bowlers used by Australia.
28th over: India 144-7 (Deepti 10, Rana 3) Deepti Sharma sweeping King, getting a run. A rare bad ball from King follows, full toss that Rana crunches but straight to the deep cover sweeper for one. Deepti gets onto her next sweep more effectively, looks to have found the rope but McGrath dives in on her stomach, gets hands to the ball, and knocks it up into her own face and away to Hamilton on the ricochet. Saves two.
27th over: India 140-7 (Deepti 7, Rana 2) Three runs from Gardner’s over, as spin continues.
26th over: India 137-7 (Deepti 5, Rana 1) King bowls a maiden! Sneh Rana deadbats the lot. I’m not sure what the point of that is, in a format based on scoring.
25th over: India 137-7 (Deepti 5, Rana 1) Sneh Rana in next, who’s a great fighter and a very good bat, but not one with the attacking gear to tackle 11 an over for half an ODI innings. Two runs from the over. Deepti has been out there for an age and barely made a run.
24th over: India 135-7 (Deepti 4) Suddenly King has 3 for 18 from five overs.
WICKET! Gautam lbw King 0, India 135-7
Two in three balls, King looping one up as Kashvee Gautam tries to sweep and misses. Any time you do that you’re in peril with umpires, the ball going on to hit her front pad rather than back leg, which means it was towards the line of leg stump, but the ball-tracking again says umpire’s call for hitting leg.
WICKET! Ghosh b King 18, India 135-6
Now that is game over. Ghosh does get hold of King in the over, clearing her front leg to dig out a full ball over the long-on fielder for six, but two balls later King skids another ball through at off stump, much like the one that got Harmanpreet. Ghosh is not trying to block it, she’s trying to back away and cut it, forced by the required run rate to manufacture scoring chances. No dice, no contact, bowled top of off.
23rd over: India 129-5 (Deepti 4, Ghosh 12) Just not working for India. This must be one of the slower pairs between the wickets, and they have a couple of near run-outs. The runs don’t come. Three singles. They need ten and a half.
22nd over: India 126-5 (Deepti 3, Ghosh 10) Another over giving away nothing by King, who so far has conceded 12 from her four overs while India needed about 40 from them. There’s also a dropped catch, a feather from Deepti’s edge that the keeper misses standing up. Mooney has had quite a few errors behind the stumps, as she prepares for life after Healy.
21st over: India 124-5 (Deepti 2, Ghosh 9) After a few sighters, Ghosh does get going. Consecutive boundaries from Tahlia McGrath to close an over, driven through the off side. They need 286 from 29 overs, so about 10 an over.
20th over: India 116-5 (Deepti 2, Ghosh 1) There’s only one possible route to Indian victory now which is that Richa Ghosh smacks about 180.
WICKET! Harmanpreet lbw King 25, India 115-5
Lovely line, suffocatingly close to the off stump. Was that a top-spinner or did it just skid? It carries on towards the stumps, beats the forward press of Harmanpreet Kaur and pins her on the front pad just in line with off stump. The umpire gives it immediately, and a DRS review doesn’t change that. The Indian captain’s 25 off 33 hasn’t helped the cause that much.
19th over: India 112-4 (Harmanpreet 23, Deepti 1) Three runs and the run out in that over, and India’s chase looks pretty well done.