Alyssa Healy declines batting one final time as Australia storm to 10-wicket win after spinners Ashleigh Gardner and Alana King tore through India’s tail
There was no final farewell innings for Alyssa Healy, but Australia’s spinners ensured her international career ended on a triumphant note, as the hosts closed out a dominant 10-wicket win early on day three in Perth.
Ashleigh Gardner and Alana King took two wickets apiece to wrap up India’s innings for 149 in a little over an hour on Sunday morning at the WACA Ground, with first drop Pratika Rawal the final wicket to fall following her dogged 137-ball innings of 63.
That left Australia needing just 25 wins to wrap up victory.
All eyes were trained on Healy, wondering if sentiment would prevail and see the retiring captain promoted up the order for one final international innings.
Healy, however, was content to leave it to the new guard of Georgia Voll and Phoebe Litchfield.
Voll avoided a duck when she overturned an early lbw call and Litchfield was dropped on nine, but it took the pair of 22-year-olds just 4.3 overs to seal the 10-wicket win.
Australia finish as emphatic winners of the multi-format series, having recovered from a 2-4 deficit following the T20I leg to take out the overall trophy 12 points to four.
On Saturday night it had been the Australia quicks wreaking havoc under lights to have India six down at stumps, and on Sunday morning it was the spinners doing the damage.
Pratika Rawal resumed on 43 alongside Sneh Rana (14no), with India six down and looking to erase the final 20 runs of Australia’s first-innings lead and start building a target.
They dug in through the first 40 minutes of the day, putting India seven runs ahead before the introduction of Ashleigh Gardner to the attack got the desired result, as Sneh Rana was clean bowled for 30, breaking the 50-run seventh-wicket stand.
Alana King got the eighth via a superb delivery that spun sharply away from Kashvee Gautam, catching the edge as Healy held on at slip.
The hometown hero got a second with a fizzing leg-break that was fended away by Sayali Satghare, popping up to Georgia Voll at silly mid-off.
Three balls later, Gardner finally ended Rawal’s vigil as a diving Sutherland snaffled a catch at short fine leg, leaving Australia needing just 25 runs to complete an emphatic Test, and multi-format series, win.
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
Australia win the multi-format series 12-4
February 15: First T20: India won by 21 runs (DLS)
February 19: Second T20: Australia won by 19 runs
February 21: Third T20: India won by 17 runs
February 24: First ODI: Australia won by six wickets
February 27: Second ODI: Australia won by five wickets
March 1: Third ODI: Australia won by 185 runs
Test match: Australia won by 10 wickets
