India Women Dominate Ireland by 6 Wickets In 1st ODI, Fifties From Pratika & Tejal Propel Hosts’ Win

The Indian Women’s side reigned supreme over the visiting Irish Women’s national side when they locked horns at the SCA Stadium in Rajkot. With a six-wicket win, the Women in Blue took a 1-0 lead and gained the supreme advantage. Standing undefeated against the Irish Women, Team India showcased flair and tenacity without their regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. Smriti Mandhana effectively led the charge against the opposition, who put up a modest target against the hosts.  

India outplayed an inexperienced Ireland by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match women’s ODI series. Pratika Rawal showcased maturity beyond her experience, while Tejal Hasabnis capped a memorable comeback, posting a fifty each, as Rawal anchored the modest run chase of 239 after stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana’s brisk 41, smashing 10 fours and one six for a career-best 89 off 96 balls.

With a scorching 29-ball 41 that was dotted with six fours and a six, Smriti Mandhana gave the team an outstanding start. She achieved this by becoming the 15th player overall and the second Indian to reach 4,000 ODI runs. With her aggressive strokeplay on both sides of the wicket, the stand-in skipper maintained her dominant form from the West Indies series against the uneasy Irish bowlers. In the eighth over, she stepped out to hammer a boundary, then a six and another four, demonstrating her aggression against seamer Dempsey.

Ireland chose to bat and was in serious trouble at 56 for four in the 14th over, but they were saved by 117 runs for the fifth wicket from Lewis and Leah Paul (59 off 73 balls). Lewis added 15 boundaries to her knock, scoring her runs in 129 balls.

With their poor fielding, the Indian women looked butter-fingered as visiting captain Gaby Lewis scored a stylish 92 to lead her team to a respectable 238 for 7. With the help of a few misfields and at least three obvious dropped catches, Lewis and Paul worked methodically to put together the team’s first-ever century partnership against India. They also provided some stability to the Ireland innings.