Sthalekar century sets up easy Australian win

Australia women 6 for 215 (Sthalekar 104*) beat India women 129 (Raj 74, Pike 3-29) by 86 runs
Scorecard

Lisa Sthalekar produced her second match-winning innings in two days to give Australia a 2-0 lead over India in Sydney. The Indian top order, barring Mithali Raj, failed yet again as the visitors crashed to an 86-run defeat.

The Indian bowlers kept Australia quiet in the first half of the innings, conceding only 83 runs in 29 overs. But then Sthalekar was joined by No. 6 batsman Jodie Fields and the two upped the run-rate, adding 93 at more than five and a half an over. Sthalekar's 113-ball 104 was her highest score in one-dayers and she also went past 2000 runs during her innings. Fields was Australia's next highest scorer with 39.

India's start was worse than Australia's - they lost both openers with nine on the board - and they continued losing wickets at regular intervals. Anjum Chopra and Raj's 23-run third-wicket stand was the highest partnership of the innings. The last five wickets fell for 39, with Raj the final one to be dismissed for 74. Kirsten Pike picked up three wickets, including those of Raj and Chopra, while debutant Lauren Ebsary took one wicket as well.

Sthalekar said the conditions were tough to bat on early in the innings and credited the openers for seeing off the tough period. "Alex [Blackwell] and Leah [Poulton] did extremely well and gave us a chance to look at the older ball. We lost a few wickets early but I was still trying to be positive and get the runs ticking over. If we allowed them build momentum it would have brought them back into the game."

She said Fields allowed her to settle down by taking charge and hitting over the top. "When Jodie came in she was very positive and timed the ball extremely well. She made it look easy. That partnership allowed us to build the innings and get over 200 on the board.

"By closing in and shutting down the batters when we were in the field, it put them under a lot of pressure. The dot balls that we were able to build by excellent bowling brought our fielding into play more than in previous games."

The teams will meet in the third ODI on Wednesday in Sydney before moving to Canberra for the final two games.