Nw: Peerless Lanning leads the vogue as Australia impact it 5 in 5, enter semi-finals

Australia Ladies folks280 for 4 (Lanning 97, Healy 72, Haynes 43, Mooney 30*, Vastrakar 2-43) beat India Ladies folks 277 for 7 (Raj 68, Bhatia 59, Harmanpreet 57*, Vastrakar 34, Brown 3-30, King 2-52) by six wickets

At the same time as you occur to are 121 for no loss interior 19 overs chasing 278, the pursuit of the absolute best a success lag in an ODI World Cup would no longer in actual fact feel too daunting. At the same time as you occur to are Australia, undefeated and title favourites with an unmatched batting depth, or no longer it is nearly inevitable, a matter of when, no longer if.

Predictably, in spite of pockets of fight from India, that is how the final 30-abnormal overs of the match played out at Eden Park. Unsurprisingly, it was as soon as Alyssa Healy and the in-compose Rachael Haynes, who assign the tone of the lag sooner than top-scorer Meg Lanning and the heart-show helped wrap up the six-wicket preserve cease. It was as soon as the 17th a success lag in a row for Australia within the structure, the joint-longest a success go in conjunction with the India men’s team in 2005-2006.

With that, Australia entered the knockouts of this edition of the World Cup with a fifth preserve cease on the bounce. India, runners-up within the 2017 World Cup, when they knocked Australia out within the semi-finals, now face two must-preserve cease games to preserve on to any hopes of ending within the pinnacle four.

Half-centuries from Mithali Raj, Yastika Bhatia and Harmanpreet Kaur, the first instance of India’s Nos. 3, 4, and 5 making fifties in a World Cup match, proved runs had been there for the taking on the Eden Park belter. However the application and urgency Australia’s openers, Healy and Haynes, and later Lanning confirmed in acknowledge to India’s 277 for 7 would had been beyond India’s expectations.

Healy and Haynes punished the leisure broad or wayward, operating onerous between the wickets even when the float of fours remained rapid and contemporary. In all, they pinched 33 singles, seven twos, four threes, and struck 14 fours in their century stand as Healy played the aggressor along with her 65-ball 72, equalling her absolute best receive of this World Cup.

It did no longer support that India’s assault confirmed diminutive adaptability with their lengths or traces, with Australia galloping to 69 within the powerplay. That India had been one bowler short – Deepti Sharma was as soon as uncared for in favour of Shafali Verma – moreover damage them on a ground with short boundaries and batting-friendly stipulations.

Now not powerful was as soon as going India’s contrivance when Sneh Rana delivered the breakthrough within the 20th over. Against the flee of play, on a night Healy swept the existence out India’s assault, it was as soon as her first reverse sweep that chanced on Raj at point. Haynes edged to Richa Ghosh within the motivate of the stumps off a Pooja Vastrakar bouncer the following over and India’s bowlers chanced on a spring in their step. Australia had long previous from 121 for no loss to 123 for 2.

However the shift of momentum totally lasted see you later. Lanning and Ellyse Perry‘s 103-flee third-wicket stand, their 12th fifty-plus partnership in 14 ODI chases, neutralised the fightback, with Lanning strolling to her 50 off perfect 56 balls.

On the vogue to her absolute best receive in this World Cup, Lanning attach the carve to in particular factual employ. Earlier than Saturday, the shot had payment Lanning her wicket four cases in as many innings, for perfect 25 runs off 22 balls. Against India, it introduced her 46 runs in 29 balls.

Lanning and Perry took Australia previous 200 with ease sooner than the expected rain made an take care of the 41st over. At the time, Australia had been 225 for 2, effectively sooner than the DLS target of 197. The game paused for 22 minutes. It did no longer support Perry, who perished straight after the restart for 28.

Mooney, who struck the a success runs with Australia wanting eight within the final over, joined Lanning for every other brisk stand even because the captain assign herself up for a hundred that was as soon as no longer to be. With eight required off 9, Lanning sliced straight to Vastrakar at point off Meghna Singh. The final-minute hiccup, on the different hand, did no longer damage Australia, thanks to Mooney’s two fours within the final over off Jhulan Goswami, whose 200th ODI ended on a forgettable point to.

India’s batting on the day was as soon as no longer in actual fact off-shade. Asked to bat in overcast stipulations, Raj and Bhatia’s 130-flee third-wicket stand, bookended by penetrating spells from Darcie Brown, assign the foundation for Harmanpreet Kaur and Vastrakar so to add rapid runs at the cease of the innings

Dropped on 33 by Mooney off legspinner Alana King, Harmanpreet’s unbeaten 47-ball 57 helped steer India from 158 for 3 to the protection of a par receive. She added 64 for the seventh wicket with Vastrakar, who chipped in with a 28-ball 34 sooner than being pushed aside final ball, as India added 77 within the final ten overs.

India’s total did no longer understand likely when they had been 39 for 2 within the powerplay. Motivate within the Australian facet after sitting out the final sport in opposition to West Indies, 19-year-frail Brown dealt India two gargantuan blows interior six overs. She enticed Smriti Mandhana into an colossal duvet pressure, which flew into the safe hands of first-budge Lanning, sooner than having Verma caught by Mooney for 12.

India’s No. 3 changed hands for the third time within the match. But Bhatia, who had shouldered opening duties within the match sooner than Saturday, rose to the occasion firstly-fall. Partnering Raj for India’s absolute best third-wicket stand in opposition to Australia in ODI World Cups, Bhatia grinded an Australian assault that looked to lack the incisiveness or self-discipline of their previous outings in this World Cup. They conceded 24 runs by wides, the most ever they’ve in an ODI World Cup match. Perry contributed ten of these, all in her opening over.

After Raj’s gritty 68 and Bhatia’s 59, a late injection of impetus came from Harmanpreet and Vastrakar within the final leg of the innings. Sooner or later, though, India’s effort across all three disciplines proved too faded in opposition to an Australia facet that appears to be racking up wins for fun.