Rajkot, Jan 10 Superb batting by the top order helped India Women defeat Ireland Women by six wickets in the first of three One-day Internationals at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday. Pratika Rawal (89) and Tejal Hasabnis (53 not out) combined for a 116-run partnership to take India to 241/4 and help the hosts overhaul the visitors' score of 238/7 in 50 overs and win the match with 93 balls to spare.
It was also a historic night for captain Smriti Mandhana as she became the fastest Indian batter and third-fastest overall to reach the 4,000-run milestone in women’s cricket. Smriti reached the mark in 95 games.
Ireland opted to bat first after winning the toss and openers Sarah Forbes (9) and Gaby Lewis (92) looked to be getting to a solid start before the former fell to Titas Sadhu in the fifth over. There was a good bounce off a length and wide of off-stump for Sadhu, as Forbes went driving at the ball far away from her body which resulted in edging it to slip.
While Lewis anchored the innings from one end, wickets of Una Raymond-Hoey (5), Orla Prendergast (9), and Laura Delany (0) fell at the other end and saw the visitors in dangerous territory at 56/4 before Leah Paul (59) stitched a 117-run partnership with her skipper.
The stand came to an end when Lewis did not respond to Paul’s call in the 39th over and was caught well short of her crease to bring a disappointing end to her innings. Deepti Sharma brought an end to Lewis’ innings, which saw her become the leading run-scorer in Ireland Women's ODI history. She got out when she was caught and bowled in the 44th innings.
Small cameos by Christina Coulter Reilly (15 not out) and Arlene Kelly (28) powered Ireland to 238/7 in 50 overs.
India got off to a fast start in their chase as Smriti (41) and Pratika began the innings blazingly before the former fell in the 10th over. The stay by Harleen Deol (20) and Jemimah Rodrigues (9) in the middle came to an underwhelming end with India reeling at 119/3. But Tejal and Rawal took the game away from the visitors.
Pratika’s wicket came just seven runs short of the target before Richa Ghosh (8 not out) ended the game with two boundaries off her opening two deliveries.
"I'm comfortable [while playing]! It helps a lot [having Mandhana]. I enjoy watching from the other end. It eases me down. We were just trying to keep it simple. We had a really good start. We just had to carry on the momentum. In the end, Tejal played really well. I'm just trying to do what I do best. Just keeping it one match at a time. Whenever the ball is in my slot, I look to play big shots; otherwise, I look to take singles,” said Rawal after winning Player of the Match.
Brief scores:
Ireland-W 238/7 in 50 overs (Gaby Lewis 92, Leah Paul 59; Priya Mishra 2-56) lost to India-W 241/4 in 34.3 overs (Pratika Rawal 89, Tejal Hasabnis 53 not out, Smriti Mandhana 41; Aimee Maguire 3-57) by six wickets.
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