AU W VS IN W ODI

Right then! That is it from the coverage of game number 18. The action from the Women's World Cup continues and it is New Zealand Women who will be taking on England Women on Sunday, 20th March at Eden Park, Auckland. This promises to be a cracker of a contest as both sides will be going hard at each other in order to stay in contention for semi-finals. The first ball will be bowled at 3.30 am IST (10 pm GMT, previous night) but you can tune in early for the build-up. Cheers and goodbye!

Meg Lanning, the skipper of Australia Women, starts by saying that India are a very good team and they have some world-class players. Tells that they still need to improve in some areas as they didn't field well in this game. Mentions that Eden Park is unique ground and they need to adjust quickly. Mentions that Rachael Haynes and Alyssa Healy got them off to a great start and laid a good foundation. Says that it is nice to see Alyssa Healy doing well and applauds her for the way she batted in this fixture.

Mithali Raj the skipper of India Women, says that whenever they lose, they feel, they fell short by 10-15 runs, but the way Australia started the innings, they were always ahead of the asking rate. Mentions that the bowling unit did not do well this time around, but they have done well in the previous games. States that the batting has improved from earlier on, but the bowling took a hit today, they have two games left and they will look to do well in all three departments. On Jhulan Goswami, she says that Jhulan is an inspiration for many girls. She concludes by thanking all the fans who came and supported them at Eden Park.

Meg Lanning is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. She says that it is nice to contribute and she has been training hard in the nets. Tells that it was a good wicket to bat on and says that she had a clear game plan against the Indian bowlers. Mentions that she has a different game plan as compared to Ellyse Perry but says that she enjoys batting with her.

Stay tuned for the presentation...

Tough day for the Women in Blue! Their batting was the concern earlier on, but in this game, it was their bowling that has let them down. The batters did step up today as they posted a healthy total of 277, but it was not enough in the end. The ball was not gripping enough, which was tough for the Indian spinners, also they were without their sixth bowling option today, Deepti Sharma, which would hurt them in hindsight. India Women were put on the back foot earlier on in the innings by the Aussie openers. They did come back into this game by grabbing two quick wickets, but they could not capitalize on the same and let Australia Women get away with another partnership. Meghna Singh did grab the important wicket of Meg Lanning but it was a little too late by then. India Women will have to win their remaining games to brighten their chances of making it to the semi-final.

Australia Women started scoring runs right from the word go. Alyssa Healy and Rachael Haynes put up 121 runs together within the first 20 overs of the innings and got them to a flying start. But Alyssa Healy perished after scoring a sublime 72 and Rachael Haynes followed her soon. After losing both the openers, skipper, Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry once again started scoring runs freely and they put together over 100 runs, before Perry was dismissed. Meg Lanning carried on, and was dismissed for 97! She did miss out on a well-deserved century, but she guided her side closer to victory. Beth Mooney finished things off in the final over to get her side over the line! Australia Women have sealed a spot in the semi-final and have also registered their highest successful run chase in Women's World Cup history.

Australia Women, the mighty Australians, have done it yet again! They are making a habit of winning! Their domination in this World Cup continues, and with this win, they become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals! So, another game in this Women's World cup that has gone to the final over. The Aussies kept their cool and have chased the target down. India Women, on the other hand, suffer their second loss on the trot. Things are only getting tougher for them in this race for a semi-final spot.

FOUR! There it is! Mooney seals the deal for Australia Women! Goswami serves a full ball, on middle. Mooney sits back and lofts it over the bowler's head. The ball races away to the fence. Australia Women win the match by 6 wickets!

Fuller in length, on off. Mooney carves it through covers. Smriti Mandhana runs in from the deep and she fumbles while trying to grab the ball. The batters collect two runs in total.

FOUR! UP AND OVER! What pressure? says Mooney! This is a length ball, on middle. Beth Mooney clears her front leg and whacks it over mid-wicket for a boundary.

Jhulan Goswami in her 200th ODI will bowl the final over. Can she defend this?

Two dots in a row and the game is far from over! Singh serves it full and well outside off. Tahlia McGrath shuffles across and slices it straight to the point fielder. 8 runs needed off 6 balls.

Back of a length, outside off. Tahlia McGrath defends it to cover.

Tahlia McGrath comes to bat now.

OUT! TAKEN! Lanning misses out on her hundred and this is a big wicket for India Women. They believe! Singh serves a full ball, outside off. Lanning opens the bat face and looks to drive but it goes off the outer half of the bat towards Pooja Vastrakar at point, who dives in front and takes a really good catch. End of a brilliant innings from Australia's skipper, she walks back to the hut after scoring 97 runs off 107 balls.

Singh goes full and outside off. Mooney drives it to the extra cover fielder who half-stops it and the batters cross ends.