Right-hand batter Jemimah Rodrigues’s maiden ODI hundred guided India Women to victory over Ireland Women by 116 runs in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Sunday. With this win, India lead and won the three-match series 2-0 with the last match of the series to be played at the same stadium. Winning the toss and batting first, India Women posted 370 – their highest-ever ODI total – beating the previous best of 358, which was also against Ireland back in 2017.
Stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana (73) and Harleen Deol (89) also scored big on the day, helping the hosts post a commanding total. After Mandhana got India off to a strong start, Deol combined alongside Rodrigues to add 183 runs for the third wicket. But just as Deol was verging towards her century, Arlene Kelly broke the stand. Rodrigues though, went on to bring up her ton in the final over, stabbing a boundary off Kelly through the off-side.
Opening up on her first hundred, Rodrigues said as quoted by the ICC official website, “I am relieved. I am used to scoring hundreds in domestic, (but a lack of centuries in international cricket) was bothering me. Sometimes you get a lot of overs, sometimes you don’t. I had to get back to how I used to play in my U19s because I have played a lot of T20s.” Defending a mammoth total, the Indian bowlers saw the game through with Deepti Sharma closing the game as the pick of the bowlers – bowling figures of 3/37.
For Ireland, Christina Coulter Reilly was the standout with the bat, scoring 80 off 113 deliveries as the wickets kept falling at the other end. With another win and a game in hand in the ongoing ICC Women’s Championship cycle, India are second in the 10-team points table, four points behind Australia, who clinched the title for a third successive time.
Brief Score: India Women 370/5 in 50 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 102, Harleen Deol 89, Orla Prendergast 2/75) vs Ireland Women 254/7 in 50 overs (Coulter Reilly 80, Sarah Forbes 38, Deepti Sharma 3/37) .