The Indian women’s cricket team achieved their biggest ODI victory by demolishing Ireland by an astonishing 304 runs in Rajkot on Wednesday, completing a 3-0 clean sweep. The match result was a foregone conclusion once India set a massive target of 436 runs for Ireland to chase.
Ireland could only muster 131 runs before being bundled out in 31.4 overs. India’s record-breaking performance was led by skipper Smriti Mandhana‘s 70-ball century and her opening partner Pratika Rawal‘s 154 runs off 129 balls, propelling the team to a total of 435/5, the highest by any Indian team in ODIs.
Mandhana and Rawal’s opening partnership of 233 runs in just 26.4 overs set the stage for an unstoppable Indian victory. Spinners Tanuja Kanwar and Deepti Sharma then took charge, sharing five wickets between them to decimate the inexperienced Irish lineup.
Orla Prendergast and Sarah Forbes provided some resistance with a 64-run partnership for the third wicket, helping Ireland recover from 24/2 to 88. However, once Prendergast was dismissed by Kanwar, India dominated the tourists, claiming the remaining seven wickets for just 33 runs.
This victory also surpassed India’s previous largest margin of victory by runs, which was 249 against the same opposition in 2017 at Potchefstroom, South Africa. Mandhana’s 10th ODI century came off just 70 deliveries, surpassing Harmanpreet Kaur‘s 87-ball hundred against South Africa last year.
India joined Australia and New Zealand in the elite list of teams that have breached the 400-run mark in ODIs. Mandhana’s destructive batting included aerial shots over the ‘V’ and clearing the 30-yard circle, while Pratika complemented her captain brilliantly with a measured knock, notching her maiden international century in her sixth innings.
Their 233-run partnership made them only the fourth Indian pair to record a 200-run stand in Women’s ODIs and the third instance of both Indian openers scoring hundreds in ODIs. The duo maintained a brisk scoring rate throughout their partnership, adding 90 runs during the Power Play and 67 in the subsequent 10 overs.
Mandhana reached her first century of the calendar year with an exquisite drive off Arlene Kelly, who bore the brunt of her onslaught. Even Kelly’s variations were dispatched with ease, with Mandhana following a six with another boundary in the 24th over.
Mandhana also took on Ireland’s leading bowler, Prendergast, smashing her for a boundary down the ground and a towering six over long-on. Promoted to No. 3, Richa Ghosh also returned to form, making a 37-ball fifty, her fifth in ODIs.