3rd ODI: Smriti and Harmanpreet look at positives despite loss to Australia in series decider
India’s women’s cricket team put up a brave fight but fell short by 43 runs against Australia in the thrilling ODI series decider at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Australia racked up a massive 412 runs—their joint-highest total in women’s ODIs—thanks to Beth Mooney’s career-best 138 and a solid top-order effort. India chased hard with 369 all out, marking the highest-ever match aggregate in women’s ODI history at 748 runs.
Smriti Mandhana led the charge for India, smashing a stunning 125, including the fastest century by an Indian woman batter in ODIs—off just 50 balls. Harmanpreet Kaur added 52, while Deepti Sharma fired 72 in a run-fest that broke plenty of records. Even though they couldn’t pull off the chase, the Indian stars focused on the positives.
Mandhana, who earned Player of the Series honors with two centuries and a fifty across the three games, kept things upbeat. “We just reacted to the ball without overthinking,” she said. “Chasing 400 on a good wicket with a fast outfield means you play positive cricket—no choice there. It was a great game for women’s cricket overall, and we stuck to our routines.”
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur felt the sting of the loss but highlighted the learnings ahead of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup. “We don’t like losing, but we played solid cricket throughout the series,” she noted. “Deepti and Sneh Rana showed our batting depth—they can really take on the bowlers. Lots of positives, and we made Australia work hard for the win.” She admitted fielding needs work, saying, “We’re pushing hard on that, but we missed some chances.” On team selection, she added, “With so many options now, we can experiment. The World Cup is long, so it’s about picking the right players for each day.”
From the Australian side, Beth Mooney, named Player of the Match, loved the flat pitch that turned the game into a high-scoring spectacle. “Georgia Voll and Ellyse Perry gave us a flying start with a big partnership,” she explained. “We just built from there, picking off boundaries. We aimed for 430 or even 450 at one point, but we’d take 412 any day. Playing in these conditions helps for the World Cup—hopefully not all wickets are this T20-like for 100 overs.”
Australia skipper Alyssa Healy praised her team’s grit on a bowler-unfriendly surface. “It was one of the flattest wickets ever—felt like T20 cricket,” she laughed. “We told ourselves to squeeze every run and approach it that way. Keeping boundaries down was tough, but we broke their middle order. Full credit to the bowlers for sticking it out.” Looking ahead to defending their World Cup title, Healy said, “Everyone’s got runs under their belt, which builds momentum. You can’t just defend—you have to win it fresh against the best teams. India was fantastic this series and will be a real threat, but we’re excited.”
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