Alyssa Healy sings praises of Australia's bowling unit following ODI series triumph over India
Dec 30, 2023
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 30 : Australia skipper Alyssa Healy hailed their bowling line-up for pulling off a remarkable performance against India to seal off the ODI series on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium.
Australia took an unassailable 2-0 lead over India following their 3-run victory in the second 50-over affair.
In the final over with 16 runs needed in six balls, a composed Annabel Sutherland pulled off a remarkable victory.
"It was a close game, all credit to our girls, we win games in tough situations. I think we were short. Lost too many wickets in the back end. The bowlers turned up for us once again. We hang in there, we fight till the last ball, that has made us so successful. Everyone's effort and energy was unbelievable. We have seen a lot changes in our team, the young players are learning. See you in 2024," Healy said after the game.
Richa Ghosh acted as the driving force throughout India's chase of 259 against a fierce Australian bowling line-up. Her knock brought India close yet they fell so far away from bringing the series to level terms.
Deepti got close to her maiden ton as she stood just four runs short of her much-deserved three figures.
She went for the glory, committed to the drive but to her luck, the ball went straight to Phoebe Litchfield off Annabel Sutherland's delivery.
Wickets kept falling at one end as Deepti Sharma stood unbeaten on the other end. After Harleen Deol's dismissal, India needed 16 runs in the final over.
Alyssa Healy handed the ball to Sutherland to see off the game. On the first ball, Deepti struck a four to bring down the occasion to 12 runs in 5 balls.
Sutherland recovered in the next two balls which also saw Shreyanka Patil's catch dropped. With nine needed in the final two balls, Sutherland kept composure and bowled slower deliveries away from the batter to see off the game for Australia.