Alyssa Healy has starred in her return to the Australia XI, launching her international farewell with a half-century as her team claimed an emphatic six-wicket win over India in the first ODI.
After Australia’s attack led by Ashleigh Gardner (3-33) bowled India out for 214 at Allan Border field, Healy’s 70-ball 50 laid the foundation before Beth Mooney (76 from 79) and Annabel Sutherland (48no from 44) saw the hosts home in 38.2 overs.
On a day where Ellyse Perry and Kim Garth were both ruled out of the series with quad strains before play, and India lost skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to a knee injury at the innings break, it was ultimately Australia who stamped their authority in the 50-over format to level the multi-format series at four points apiece.
The action now heads to Hobart for the remaining two one-dayers.
Healy, returning to the top of the Australian order in her final ODI series and playing in front of friends and family in the state of her birth, joined Phoebe Litchfield in a 55-run opening stand to lay the foundation for the Australian chase.
The introduction of left-arm spinner Sree Charani in the 11th over brought the breakthroughs India needed as she had Litchfield stumped on 32 then Georgia Voll caught at short extra cover a ball later.
Mooney saw off the hat-trick ball and shortly after, ticked off a couple of major milestones: becoming the seventh Australian woman to score 3,000 ODI runs, before joining Meg Lanning, Perry and Healy in the 7,000 international runs club.
Healy raised the bat for a 69-ball half-century but could not add to her tally, caught off the bowling of Kranti Gaud to crack the door just slightly open for India, with Australia 3-119 needing 96 off 160 balls.
Sutherland joined Mooney to slam that door shut, however, the pair putting on 85 runs in 13.2 overs to sap the energy from the Indian attack.
Mooney’s fifty came off 58 deliveries via a booming six down the ground, and while she departed with Australia just shy of their target, Sutherland iced the win with a six.
Earlier, Australia were dealt a pair of significant blows before the first ball was even bowled, as news broke that Perry and Garth had been ruled out of the entire ODI series due to quad strains and are in doubt for the WACA Test.
Harmanpreet won a fourth-straight toss and opted to bat first, but was one of only two batters alongside Smriti Mandhana (58 from 68) to make a significant contribution as India were bowled out for 214.
Megan Schutt, who had jumped on a flight at 6am the previous morning to answer the ‘SOS’ call having initially been dropped from the 50-over squad, was handed the new ball and found immediate success with a hooping inswinger, trapping Pratika Rawal lbw for a duck with the second ball of the match.
Shafali Verma, who held her spot in the XI but slid down to first drop following the return of Rawal from injury, laboured her way through her 17-ball innings, scoring just four runs before falling to an athletic caught-and-bowled from Darcie Brown.
Looking to inject some impetus into their innings, India promoted Jemimah Rodrigues ahead of Harmanpreet. Rodrigues had smacked an unbeaten 127 to break Australia’s hearts in their last meeting at last October’s World Cup semi-final, but there was no repeat of those heroics at Allan Border Field, as she edged Gardner behind to depart for eight, leaving the tourists 3-52.
At the other end, Mandhana was in cruise control. The left-hander averaged 80.8 across five ODI innings against Australia in 2025, and she carried on her form from the final T20I to bring up a half-century from 56 deliveries.
So in control was Mandhana, her eventually dismissal on 58 came out of nowhere, as she looked to sweep a Tahlia McGrath delivery that was floating down leg, but only managed to pick out Alana King at fine leg.
The Aussie spin trio of Gardner, King and Sophie Molineux kept the pressure on through the middle over, with King getting her first when Deepti Sharma (2) departed in similar fashion, picking out Molineux at short leg with a miscued sweep.
Molineux thought she had the dangerous Richa Ghosh trapped lbw in her first over, only for it to be overturned on review. She did not have to wait long to celebrate over, as Ghosh looked to cut the left-arm spinner only to find the safe hands of Georgia Voll diving forward at backward point.
It left India 6-140 in the 34th as fourth-gamer Kashvee Gautam joined Harmanpreet, who had been circumspect as wickets fell at the other end, at one point going 87 minutes without finding the boundary.
Gautam’s 44-ball 43 added much-needed spark to India’s innings, while Harmanpreet provided the anchor at the other end, working her way to a 79-ball half-century.
But once Gardner removed the India captain to break the 53-run stand, the final four wickets fell for 21 runs as tourists were bowled out for 214 in 48.3 overs.
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
The multi-format series is tied 4-4
February 15: India won by 21 runs (DLS)
February 19: Australia won by 19 runs
February 21: India won by 17 runs
Australia ODI squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal
February 24: Australia won by six wickets
February 27: Second ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT
March 1: Third ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT
Australia Test squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare
March 6-9: Test match, WACA Ground, 4:20pm AEDT (D/N)
