Another day, another record-breaking win for India Women as they defeated Ireland Women by a massive 304-run margin in the third ODI, completing a clean sweep in the series.
India posted their highest-ever ODI total in women’s cricket, surpassing the 400-run mark with a score of 435/5 in 50 overs. The total was powered by Pratika Rawal’s 154, Smriti Mandhana’s 135 and Richa Ghosh’s 59. In reply, Ireland were bowled out for 131. Pratika was named the Player of the Match and she also earned the Player of the Series award for scoring 310 runs in three innings.
India made two changes to their playing XI, bringing in Tanuja Kanwar and Minnu Mani in place of Saima Thakor and Priya Mishra. Ireland stuck with the same XI as the previous match. The opening pair of Smriti and Pratika shone once again, putting on a stunning 233-run partnership in just 26.4 overs. Smriti smashed the fastest ODI century in India Women’s cricket history, reaching the milestone in just 70 balls. She eventually fell for 135 off 80 balls, hitting 12 fours and seven sixes.
Richa Ghosh was sent in next to capitalise on the solid foundation. She scored 59 off 42 balls, adding 104 runs for the second wicket with Pratika before being dismissed. Pratika, meanwhile, stayed composed and reached her maiden ODI century in 100 balls before accelerating to add 54 more runs off just 29 balls. She was finally dismissed for 154 on the last ball of the 44th over. Contributions from Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma and Harleen Deol helped India finish with 435/5, the fourth-highest total in the history of women’s cricket.
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In their chase, Ireland struggled from the start, losing skipper Gaby Lewis and Christina Reilly early, leaving them at 24/2. Sarah Forbes and Orla Prendergast provided some resistance with a 64-run partnership for the third wicket. However, once Orla was dismissed for 36 by Tanuja, the rest of the batting collapsed. Ireland lost their final seven wickets for just 43 runs and were bowled out for 131 in 31.4 overs.
India’s spinners dominated the proceedings, with Deepti Sharma taking three wickets, Tanuja Kanwar claiming two and Minnu Mani picking up one. Notably, this was the first time in the series that India managed to dismiss all 10 Irish batters.
While India’s win was emphatic, questions were raised about the quality of pitches used in the series. The flat tracks heavily favoured the batters, making high scores almost inevitable. With the 50-over World Cup in India approaching, concerns remain about whether the Women in Blue can replicate such dominant performances against stronger teams like Australia, England or South Africa on more competitive surfaces.
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