Rawal, Tejal make bat talk as India romp to 4-wicket win
Rajkot: Pratika Rawal showcased maturity beyond her experience while Tejal Hasabnis capped a memorable comeback, posting a fifty each, as India outplayed an inexperienced Ireland by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match women’s ODI series here on Friday.
Rawal anchored the run chase of 239 with a career-best 89 after stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana’s brisk 41 set the tone.
Hasabnis, who last played an ODI against New Zealand in October 2024, struck her first fifty after her comeback, remaining unbeaten on 53 off 46 balls with the help of nine boundaries.
Rawal and Hasabnis put together a match-winning 116-run partnership from 84 balls with India winning the match with 93 balls to spare.
Carrying forward her dominant form from West Indies series, Mandhana gave the team a fantastic start with a blistering 29-ball 41, studded with six fours and a six. In the process, she became the second Indian and 15th overall to surpass 4,000 ODI runs.
Mandhana unsettled the Irish bowlers with her attacking strokeplay on both sides of the wicket. Her aggression was particularly evident against seamer Dempsey in the eighth over, when she stepped out to hammer a boundary, followed by a six and another four.
Her rookie opening partner Rawal, who debuted in the preceding West Indies series, provided excellent support.
The duo shared their third fifty-plus opening stand in four matches, keeping the scoreboard ticking with ease.
Earlier, butter-fingered India let Ireland off the hook with their pathetic fielding as visiting skipper Gaby Lewis carved out a classy 92 to lift her team to a respectable 238/7.
Opting to bat, Ireland were in deep trouble at 56/4 in the 14th over. Mandhana wasn’t pleased about it, saying they should have restricted their opponents to under 180.
“We need to get better at fielding. We should have restricted them to 180, will be aiming to do that going forward. We have to go out there and execute our plans, that’s going to be important,” Mandhana said.
