INDA-W vs AUSA-W 2nd ODI: Brilliant fifties by Yastika Bhatia, Radha Yadav, and Tanuja Kanwar helped India A win the second ODI by two wickets and the series as well against Australia A, as Alyssa Healy's gritty knock had set the foundation for the Women in Blue on Friday. The Women in Blue had won the match with one ball remaining and are leading the three-match series.
The host had won the three-match T20I series by 3-0.
While chasing a target of 265 runs, on the back of Healy's knock of 91 runs off 87 balls, the visitors were reeling at 193/7 after Yastika Bhatia and Radha Yadav were dismissed.
India's star all-rounder Tanuja stood up for the team by scoring a match-winning half-century and helped the team win the match on the second last ball.
Tanuja stitched a brilliant partnership of 68 runs for the eighth wicket with Prema Rawat, who has been in sublime form as a bowler, and they took the Australian bowlers to the cleaners.
The duo then batted aggressively. They took quick singles and eventually built the match-winning partnership.
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Unfortunately, Prema was dismissed, and India still had lots of runs to score. But both Tanuja and fast bowler Titas Sadhu faced the Australian bowlers during the last over and scored those important five runs.
The visitors had won the series opener at the same venue by three wickets earlier this week.
Star wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia played patiently after they had lost both the openers, Shafali Varma and Dhara Gujjar, quickly.
Shafali had a forgetful outing during this series as she couldn't score a single fifty. The youngster is aiming to seal a spot in the India Women's ODI World Cup squad as the mega event would be held in India later this year.
Yastika had smashed nine fours in her match-winning knock and helped the team bounce back after suffering a batting collapse. They were tottering at 83/4, but she batted cautiously and eventually got out during the 29th over and took the score to 151/5.
Captain Radha Yadav, who had built a 68-run partnership with Yastika for the fifth wicket, got out during the 37th over, and the visitors were 193/7 with still lots of runs to chase.
But Tanuja and Prema helped the team cross the line.
During the first innings, Healy had scored a gritty knock of 91 runs, in which she had smashed eight fours and three sixes, and helped the team post a respectable target of 265 runs.
For Healy, this series is quite important as she would be leading the team from the front during the Women's ODI World Cup, and it looks like she's preparing well for the mega-event, although she did fall short of a well-deserved hundred.
Brief scores:
Australia A: 265 for 9 in 50 overs (Alyssa Healy 91, Kim Garth 41 not out; Minnu Mani 3/46).
India A: 266 for 8 in 49.5 overs (Yastika Bhatia 66, Radha Yadav 60, Tanuja Kanwar 50, Prema Rawat 32 not out; Amy Edgar 2/55).