Ashleigh Gardner’s dazzling 83-ball 115 was the centrepiece as Australia Women began their defence of the World Cup with a crushing 89-run victory over New Zealand at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Australia’s innings was in disarray at 113-4 (which soon became 128-5) when Gardener came to the crease, but her belligerent counterattacking knock took the game away from New Zealand. Sophie Devine fought bravely for a superb 111 (112 balls), but New Zealand never really recovered from losing both openers in the first two overs.
Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield had given Australia a turbocharged start, with Litchfield in particular in punishing mood. Her 31-ball 45 was the highlight of a powerplay in which Australia plundered 81, but once she was deceived by an Amelia Kerr googly, the innings unravelled. Ellyse Perry and Beth Mooney both squandered starts, while Annabel Sutherland too had no answer to Kerr’s leg-spin wiles.
At the other end though, Gardner played some stunning shots in the V, racing to a half-century in 43 balls and needing just another 34 to bring up her second ODI hundred. In all, she hit 16 fours and a six as New Zealand were run ragged in the closing stages. Tahlia McGrath (26) added 64 with Gardner, and Kim Garth provided the late momentum with a 37-ball 38.
Australia opened the bowling with Garth’s pace and Sophie Molineux’s left-arm spin, and both Georgie Plimmer and the vastly experienced Suzie Bates were back in the pavilion without troubling the scorers. Kerr made a stodgy 33, while Isabella Gaze blazed away briefly for an 18-ball 28, but despite Devine’s best efforts, New Zealand were always well behind the asking rate.
Devine eventually was bowled by a slower ball from Sutherland, whose three wickets in four balls effectively ended the contest. Just one match down, but Australia have already laid down a marker.
Brief Scores: Australia 326 (Gardner 115, Litchfield 45; Tahuhu 3-42) beat New Zealand 237 (Devine 111; Molineux 3-25, Sutherland 3-26) by 89 runs.
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