AU W VS WI W ODI

That's it from this match. Australia Women continue to rule the roost and head the table with four consecutive wins. Up next is a battle of survival on Wednesday, 16th March 2022. The reigning champions have their title defense on the line after suffering three consecutive losses. They take on buoyant India Women at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui and another defeat will push England Women to the brink of an early exit. The first ball will be at 6.30 am IST (1 am GMT) but you can join us in advance for the build-up. Cheers!

Meg Lanning, the victorious captain of Australia Women, says that it's all about adjusting to the breeze here and assessing the conditions well. Adds that they are blessed to have such good depth in the squad that anyone can come in and perform at the highest level. She adds that Rachael Haynes and Beth Mooney batted really well but also adds that they don't want to lose early wickets. Smiles and rates their batting performance as 7 out of 10. Mentions that the Windies had a clear plan when they came out to bowl and that made it a bit difficult. About moving to Auckland for the next game, Meg replies that it should be fun against India and they are ready for it.

Stafanie Taylor, the captain of West Indies Women, says that it was not the best batting display from them. Adds that they pride themselves on their batting and admits that they didn't assess the conditions well and lost too many wickets upfront. Shares that they were aiming for a score above 250. Tells that 130 was way below par but her bowling group did really well. Mentions that they still have 3 more games and have to leave this game behind and move on. She is happy with her personal form.

Ellyse Perry (8-0-22-3) is chosen for the Player of the Match award! She also played a handy supporting role in a crucial stand with Rachael Haynes. Perry says that the conditions were nice to bowl early on with the slope and she got wickets as well so she is happy. Adds that she is trying to work on her shape with the new ball and trying out variations and the more she bowls before the match, the better control she has. Mentions that sometimes Test matches help you to get into a rhythm as you get to bowl more. Adds that the conditions here have been different due to the breeze and they like playing here.

Presentation time...

Earlier in the day, the match started after a delay of 30 minutes due to rain. There was a tinge of green on the surface and coupled with the overcast conditions, it was perfect for bowling. However, Stafanie Taylor decided to bat first. They were pegged back thrice inside Powerplay 1 by Ellyse Perry and never recovered. The Aussie spinners also choked the flow of runs and suffocated West Indies Women for runs. Only Stafanie Taylor managed to score some runs as the rest just surrendered. Two hefty defeats for them now and they need to find a way out from this losing rut.

A target of 132 would have never challenged the batting powerhouse of Australia Women. Although they were rocked early by Hayley Matthews, they knew one good partnership will be enough to see them through. They ended up getting two with Rachael Haynes being the common participant in both. With Ellyse Perry, she added 51 runs to steady the ship after early hiccups and then with Beth Mooney, Haynes made sure to complete the task with 118 balls to spare.

Comfortable win for Australia Women but they had to work hard in the chase. The scorecard won't tell you the entire story. It was an abysmal batting show by West Indies Women which disallowed them to get a challenging total on the board otherwise this match had all the ingredients to be a cracker. The kind of intensity shown in the field by the Caribbean team was brilliant and they really pushed the Aussies hard.

That's it! It's all over. A high full toss, on middle. Rachael Haynes steps out and pulls it towards deep mid-wicket for a single to finish things off. What a knock it has been from her! Australia Women win by 7 wickets!

Floated up, right in the blockhole. Haynes jams it out on the off side.

Around middle and leg, flicked away straight to mid-wicket and there's no run there.

A bit of width on offer and Haynes steers it to the left of deep backward point. The batters look for two but Chinelle Henry is quick to get across and keeps it down to a single. The scores are now level.

Pitched up, on middle, Haynes stays solid in defense.

Around the top of off, played behind point for a single.

FOUR! Impeccable from Beth Mooney! An inviting half-volley on off, Mooney caresses it through covers for a glorious boundary. Just 3 required now.

Back of a length, on the leg stump line, Mooney steps out and dabs it down towards backward point.

Flatter delivery, around middle. This is pushed towards mid on.