Ireland Women vs India Women – Pratika Rawal’s 89 offset Gaby Lewis’s 92 as India cruised to a comfortable victory in the first ODI against Ireland in Rajkot, successfully chasing a target of 239 with more than 15 overs to spare and winning by six wickets to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Priya Mishra Ireland Women vs India Women
Opting to bat, Ireland were in some early trouble, having lost two wickets inside the PowerPlay. Titas Sadhu struck in her first spell, getting Sarah Forbes to edge to first slip before Una Raymond-Hoey was run out by a sharp throw from Jemimah Rodrigues. Priya Mishra then struck twice in two balls, getting Orla Prendergast stumped and Laura Delany bowled as Ireland slipped to 56/4 on a pretty good batting strip.
Ireland Women vs India Women National Cricket Team Match
It took a 117-run stand between Lewis and Leah Paul to revive the innings and put what looked like a fighting total on the board. It didn’t help India’s cause that Paul was dropped twice, but the duo mixed caution with aggression, leaving India searching for wickets for nearly 25 overs before a run-out effected by Harleen Deol saw the back of Paul after a 73-ball 59 featuring 7 fours.
Ireland Women vs India Women
In the third over, it was Rawal’s turn. A beautiful cover drive, a result of her immaculate hand-eye coordination. A spectacular pull shot in front of the square followed. On the batting track where Ireland scored their highest ODI score against India, Indian openers did what was needed. Make the most of the early fielding restrictions. While Mandhana went all guns blazing, Rawal was ready to give her the strike and hit an occasional bad delivery that came her way. That aggression resulted in Mandhana’s eventual downfall for 41, but India were well on top of the chase at that time.
Once Mandhana went back, the scoring rate slowed, Rawal did what she was supposed to do and kept the scoreboard ticking. Harleen Deol and Jemimah Rodrigues perished while trying to score some quick runs, Rawal stayed strong at the crease. She was asked to carry her bat in the innings and it looked like she was ready to play that role.
Ireland Women vs India Women
“We had a really good start and the wicket was really nice. When the wickets were falling, I was just trying to keep it simple and trying to play my shots. If I have been given a responsibility to play till the end, so I was trying to contribute to the team,” Rawal told media after the match.
Rawal found a partner in Tejal Hasabnis to steady the ship as the duo added 116 runs off 84 balls to take India close to victory. Hasabnis, who got the opportunity in the playing XI for the first time since the home series against New Zealand, showcased her mettle batting at five. “At the end, Tejal played really well,” Rawal complimented her batting partner in the post-match presentation.
Ireland Women vs India Women – It is early in her career, but Rawal has played her role with ease. While she has faced the bowlers from the West Indies and Ireland on the wickets where batting was relatively easy, it will be interesting to see if she has impressed the decision-makers enough to make it count for the World Cup selection. She has two remaining ODIs against Ireland to make her case as the next series India are scheduled to play is not happening till July 2025.
India vs Ireland Women Cricket Team
Lewis, the Ireland captain, got to her fifty off 75 balls and hit 15 fours in her 129-ball knock. She fell short of her ton when she handed a return catch to Deepti Sharma but by then, Ireland had navigated choppy waters on their first ever bilateral tour of India. Arlene Kelly’s quick 28 towards the back end took them to a total over 225, which looked improbable at one point in time and was 45 runs over what India wanted to restrict them to. India’s debutant Sayali Satghare, who took the new ball, returned fine figures of 1 for 43, the lone wicket being that of Kelly.
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Ireland Women vs India Women
India responded to the below par target with a 70-run opening stand that witnessed some fireworks from Smriti Mandhana. The stand-in captain’s 29-ball 41 saw her hit a boundary six times and clear the fence once, when she deposited the full toss from Georgina Dempsey over deep square leg.
Ireland Women vs India Women – Even after Mandhana fell off the last ball of the PowerPlay, top-edging one off Freya Sargent, her opening partner Rawal continued to anchor the innings, getting to her fifty off 70 balls and staying in the middle until only seven runs were needed to win.
Harleen Deol Ireland Women vs India Women
While in the middle, Rawal saw Harleen Deol and Jemimah Rodrigues fall to Aimee Maguire without adding much to the total, but India looked in total command once Tejal Hasabnis walked out and hit an unbeaten 46-ball 53. Maguire finished with a three-wicket haul but she just didn’t have the runs to defend on the board.
Ireland Women vs India Women Brief Scores: Ireland 238/7 (Lewis 92; Priya Mishra 2-56) lost to India 241/4 in 34.3 overs (Rawal 89, Hasabnis 53*; Maguire 3-57) by 6 wickets.