In the Women’s One-Day International (ODI) Tri-Series featuring Scotland, the United States of America, and Papua New Guinea, the final ODI saw a showdown between the former two teams. In the lead-up to this game, against Papua New Guinea, the USA suffered a loss, while Scotland registered a dominant victory.
Winning the toss, Scotland opted to bat first, and openers Sarah Bryce and Darcey Carter strode to the middle. Unscratched, the pair put 45 runs on the board in 10 overs, with both finding boundaries in the first passage of play. Jessica Willathgamuwa was introduced into the attack and made an instant impact, dismissing Carter on 18(31), and off the very next ball, she bagged the big wicket of Kathryn Bryce. Scotland lost another in quick succession as Jivana Aras handed Ailsa Lister a 3-ball duck.
Priyanaz Chatterji then joined Sarah, and the duo calmed the chaos as Scotland recovered from 3/58. Priyanaz quickly found her rhythm with a couple of boundaries, while Sarah continued to anchor the innings, reaching her maiden ODI fifty in the 26th over. A couple of overs later, Ritu Singh put an end to the 59-run stand, dismissing Priyanaz on 33(53). Megan McColl then partnered with Sarah and Scotland had a 2nd strong partnership with the pair finding boundaries with ease, accelerating the scoring.
Eventually, Aditi Chudasama produced the breakthrough, drawing curtains to the partnership worth 74 runs, dismissing McColl on 38(47). A wicket got another, as a couple of overs later, Bryce walked back on 84(122), with the highest individual score for Scotland in WODIs. Lorna Jack’s 24-ball 35* propelled Scotland to post their highest-ever total of 251/7, while Rachel Slater (9) and Katherine Fraser (13*) also chipped in.
Jessica and Aditi both claimed identical figures of 2/41 from their respective 10 overs, leading the wickets tally for the United States of America. The trio of Ritu, Jivana, and Geetika Kodali each claimed a wicket for the team.
The States, in reply, didn’t have a good start, losing Pooja Ganesh early in the chase. However, they managed to keep their hold on the game with opener Disha Dhingra and Anika Kolan stitching a crucial 47-run stand, which came to an end with Disha departing on 23(38). Anika was joined by skipper Sindhu Sriharsha and with Scotland picking wickets at regular intervals, the team could only manage another brief partnership as Sindhu failed to convert her start, departing on 16(31).
Gargi Bhogle then took guard, but as Abataha Maqsood spun her web, the USA lost wickets in clusters as Anika’s resistance on 33(60) ended, followed by the wickets of Isani Vaghela on 6(12) and Jessica on 0(6). Gargi (35 off 49), alongside Ritu, stabilized USA’s innings with a 33-run stand. Contributions from tailenders Ritu (18 off 36) and Geetika (19 off 26) helped the USA near the 200-run mark. Aditi’s 30-ball 25*, alongside Jivana (5*), saw the team close out on 210/9 at the end of 50 overs.
Abtaha Maqsood with career-best figures of 4/30 (10) led the wickets tally, followed by Chloe Abel’s 2/32 (10). Rachel, Katherine, and Priyanaz each contributed with a wicket as Scotland secured a 41-run win. With consecutive wins, emerging as the sole unbeaten team in the tri-series, Scotland secured the series.
