Colombo, Oct 8: Star batter Beth Mooney struck a magnificent hundred and led a remarkable Australian fightback along with tailender Alana King to set up a crushing 107-run win over Pakistan in their ICC World Cup match here on Wednesday.
Sent in to bat, defending champions Australia suffered a top-order batting collapse as they were reduced to 76/7 in the 22nd over with Pakistan spinners, led by Nashra Sandhu (3/37), wrecking havoc.
At one stage, it looked like the Australian innings would fold for less than 150, but Mooney (109 from 114 balls) resurrected their innings with her fifth ODI hundred and first World Cup ton.
She stitched a record 106 runs for the ninth wicket with King (51 not out off 49 balls) to lift Australia to 221 for 9.
After Mooney and King’s heroics, Australian bowlers, led by Kim Garth (3/14), Annabel Sutherland (2/15) and Megan Schutt (2/25), dismissed Pakistan for 114 in 36.3 overs for their second win in the tournament.
Australia beat New Zealand in their opening match while the second game against Sri Lanka was abandoned due to rain.
For Pakistan, this was their third loss on the trot, after defeats to India and Bangladesh.
Chasing 222, Pakistan began in the worst possible manner as they lost five wickets for 31 runs by the ninth over with pacers Garth and Schutt snapping three and two wickets respectively. They were never in the run chase against the experienced Australians and only four Pakistan batters could reach double-digit figures.
Sidra Amin (35) gave a semblance of resistance. She and captain Fatima Sana survived for four overs before the latter got out for 11.
With six wickets down for 49 in the 13th over, the writing was on the wall for Pakistan. The departure of Sidra in the 22nd over all but ended Pakistan’s chase.
Earlier, the show belonged to Mooney after Australia’s batting collapse.
Coming to the crease when the score read 30 for two, Mooney saw wickets tumbling around her. Undeterred, she went about her business with composure and played one of her most memorable innings. She hit 11 fours from 114 balls for her 109, and the second best Australian batter was No. 10 King. It was the highest stand for the ninth or a lower wicket in women’s ODIs. The previous best was 76 between Ashleigh Gardner and Kim Garth of Australia for the ninth wicket against South Africa in 2024. (PTI)
