Litchfield, Perry star as Aussies complete record chase

Australia have pulled off the second-highest successful run chase in the history of women's ODIs in clinical fashion, cruising to a six-wicket victory over India in Mumbai.

Phoebe Litchfield (78 from 89 balls) and Ellyse Perry (75 from 72) laid the foundation in pursuit of India's 8-282 at Wankhede Stadium, before Tahlia McGrath (68no from 55) sealed the win with 21 balls to spare.

McGrath was helped by Beth Mooney (42 from 47) as the Australians bounced back from their defeat in the one-off Test match to take a 1-0 lead in the three-game one-day series.

It was the highest successful chase in a women's ODI both in and against India, and second overall behind Australia's 6-289 against New Zealand at North Sydney Oval in 2012.

Australia's chase at got off to a disastrous start when Alyssa Healy was brilliantly caught by a diving Sneh Rana for a duck from the third ball of the innings.

But Perry came in and immediately took it to the hosts, playing the role of aggressor in a 148-run second-wicket stand with Litchfield.

Perry's half-century came off 45 balls – her joint-fastest in ODIs – and featured two sixes.

The veteran allrounder struggled with cramp through the second half of her innings, prompting her to up the ante further as she evoked memories of Glenn Maxwell's recent heroics at the same venue during the men's World Cup.

There was no match-winning ton for Perry, who holed out on 75, but when she departed Litchfield opened her shoulders, targeting off-spinner Deepti Sharma to bring up her own fifty off 66 deliveries before she was bowled by Rana.

The double breakthrough briefly ignited India's hopes but they failed to keep the pressure on McGrath and Mooney, who put on an 88-run partnership and had the Aussies within sight of victory when the latter was bowled on 42.

McGrath raced to a half-century from 40 balls – her third fifty at Wankhede Stadium in a week – before icing victory with her 11th boundary.

Earlier, Jemimah Rodrigues (82 off 77 balls) rescued India from 4-95 before No.9 Pooja Vastrakar (62 not out off 46) finished their innings with a flourish as the pair steered Indian to 8-282, their highest score against Australia in ODIs.

No.5 Rodrigues struggled with the conditions on a hot Mumbai day, calling for assistance on more than one occasion and taking any chance she could to rest on her haunches as her innings wore on.

Her half-century was a knock of class and guts – the contents of which she deposited just outside the boundary rope during a break in play while the Australians unsuccessfully used a review – but she was denied the chance for a breakthrough first ODI century when she holed out on 82 in the 47th over.

Vastrakar carried on the attack, with her powerful display ensuring India added 82 runs from the final 10 overs as she blazed a fifty from just 39 deliveries.

During the one-off Test, the allrounder was a stubborn thorn in Australia's side during a 122-run eighth-wicket stand with Deepti Sharma.

On Thursday it was her 68-run stand with Rodrigues that gave the tourists headaches, as she hit the highest score by a No.9 in women's ODIs.

India were dealt a significant blow before a ball had even been bowled, when news filtered through that star opener and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana had been indisposed with illness and would miss the series opener.

With the hosts electing to bat first, Darcie Brown (1-33) celebrated her return to the Aussie XI by knocking over the stumps of Shafali Verma (1) in the third over, and Annabel Sutherland, in her 50th international, had first drop Richa Ghosh (21) top-edging a simple catch to McGrath at mid-off to keep the hosts to 2-49 at the end of the power play.

When Ashleigh Gardner secured the key wicket of India captain Harmanpreet Kaur (9 off 17), brilliantly caught by a diving Brown at short fine leg, India were wobbling at 3-57.

Yastika Bhatia looked right at home following her unexpected promotion to the top of the order and upped the ante when she hit a trio of boundaries off Georgia Wareham (2-55).

The leg-spinner was struggling to find her rhythm, gifting a series of full tosses, but Healy persevered with Wareham for a third over and it paid off – albeit not in the intended fashion, as Bhatia went after yet another full toss but only managed to pick out Megan Schutt in the deep.

But from a position of trouble at 4-95, Rodrigues masterminded the fightback, putting together useful partnerships of 39 and 45 respectively with Sharma (21) and fourth-gamer Amanjot Kaur (20).

Her fifty came off 54 deliveries as she played the anchor role to perfection, setting the foundation for Vastrakar's late surge.

Australia had earlier made three changes to the XI that played last week's one-off Test, with Brown, Wareham and Schutt replacing Lauren Cheatle, Kim Garth and Jess Jonassen.

Australia's CommBank Tour of India

Test match: India won by eight wickets

December 28: First ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

December 30: Second ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

January 2: Third ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

January 5: First T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

January 7: Second T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

January 9: Third T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar