Pacers, Alana King shines with the ball before Beth Mooney guides Australia to a thumping victory over South Africa in the 1st ODI. The Australian women led by skipper Alyssa Healy clinched the T20I series by a 2-1 margin. The caravan now moves on to the three-match ODI series that will be followed by a one-off Test match.
The Australian skipper Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first in the first ODI. After being inserted to bat first, the visitors, South Africa were in deep trouble, losing their top three inside the powerplay and found themselves in deep trouble at 9/3 in the 8th over of the innings. Marizanne Kapp joined Sune Luus at the crease and the duo stitched a 25-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Annabel Sutherland cleaned up Sune Luus to provide the 4th breakthrough for Australia.
Chloe Tryon joined Marizanne Kapp at the crease and the duo stitched a 22-run partnership for the 5th wicket before Ashleigh Gardner picked up the wicket of Chloe Tryon to provide the 5th breakthrough for Australia. Marizanne Kapp completed her well-deserved half-century before retiring hurt. Wicket-keeper batter Sinalo Jafta joined Nadine de Klerk at the crease and the duo stitched a 38-run partnership for the 6th wicket before leg-spinner Alana King trapped wicket-keeper batter Sinalo Jafta on the pads to provide the 6th breakthrough for her side.
The visitors, South Africa were eventually bundled out for 105 with over 18 overs to spare. They suffered a mini collapse as they lost their next four wickets for just 11 runs. Marizanne Kapp (50 off 58 balls) and Nadine de Klerk (18 off 33 balls) were the top performers with the bat for South Africa. Kim Garth (6-0-18-2), Alana King (4.3-1-19-3), and Megan Schutt (5-4-1-1) were the top performers with the ball for Australia.
Chasing a target of 106, the South African openers got off to a cautious start scoring at just over 6 runs an over before Masabata Klaas picked up the wicket of Phoebe Litchfield to provide the first breakthrough for South Africa. Ellyse Perry joined skipper Alyssa Healy at the crease, but the duo failed to stitch a substantial partnership as Nadine de Klerk picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Alyssa Healy to provide the 2nd breakthrough for South Africa.
Beth Mooney joined Ellyse Perry at the crease and the duo saw the home side over the line with a 64-run partnership. Beth Mooney (52 off 34 balls), skipper Alyssa Healy (19 off 24 balls), and Ellyse Perry (16 off 33 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Australia. Masabata Klaas (1/22) and Nadine de Klerk (1/19) were the top performers with the ball for South Africa. Kim Garth was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell (2/18) with the ball. The Australian pacers played a crucial role in restricting South Africa to a below-par total (105) and then chasing it down with 31 overs to spare.
The home side took a 1-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series. The 2nd ODI of the series will commence on 7th February 2024 at the North Sydney Oval from 9:10 am IST.