Mandhana, Rawal, Deol fifties steer India to 281

Innings India 281 for 7 (Rawal 64, Mandhana 58, Deol 54, Schutt 2-45) vs Australia

Half-centuries by India's top three - Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol - took them to 281 for 7 after they opted to bat in the first ODI against Australia in New Chandigarh.

On what captain Harmanpreet Kaur described as a "good batting wicket", India's openers Mandhana and Rawal got off to a solid start, with Mandhana the more aggressive of the two. But a squeeze by Australia's spinners kept India quiet in the middle overs before Deol upped the ante with a run-a-ball fifty.

Mandhana made her intent clear from the beginning, bringing out her trademark cover drive to score boundaries and charging down to Kim Garth for a big hit. She looked set for a big score when she launched Ash Gardner for a six in the 11th over.

Australia put the pressure on Rawal early on, having three catchers in the cordon and just one fielder in the deep. She, however, scored a few boundaries through the gaps, one of which was an edge that went past Beth Mooney at gully.

But the duo mostly looked at ease against Megan Schutt and Garth, and continued scoring even with the introduction of second-change bowlers in Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner, bringing up their fifth century stand, equalling the Indian record. They also put up the highest opening stand for India against Australia, going past 103 by Sandhya Agarwal and Gargi Banerjee in 1984.

On the way, Mandhana also brought up her 32nd ODI half-century, her 16th 50-plus score since the 2022 ODI World Cup, the most by any batter in this period.