Gardner neutralizes Renuka’s brilliance to stun India in CWG opener

BIRMINGHAM: Indian pacemaker Renuka Singh dismantled Australia’s top order before Ashleigh Gardner stole the show with a gutsy 52 no-out and led her team to a thrilling victory over India in the first match of the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Coming out to bat at 34/4 while chasing 155, Australia’s middle-order batsman Gardner showed sheer determination as she led her side over the line with an astonishing, unbeaten 52.

The right-handed batsman stopped the flow of wickets for India with her valiant effort while also keeping Australia in the hunt as she scored at a decent pace. Gardner was undefeated in 52 of 35 deliveries, tied with nine limits.

Right-handed batsman Grace Harris remained the other notable run-chaser, as she contributed a valuable 37 in just 20 deliveries with the help of five bounds and two sixes.

Harris, along with Gardner, staged a major 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket to strengthen Australia’s position in the game.

Following Harris’ sacking, Gardner then teamed up with Alana King and put together an astonishing 47-run unbeaten partnership for the second wicket that propelled Australia to claim a brilliant victory in 19 overs. King scored 18 of 16 deliveries.

For India, Renuka led the way with four wickets for just 18 runs, while Deepti Sharma claimed two. Meghna Singh, on the other hand, did a hairdo.

Batting first, India finished with a commendable 154/8 in the allotted 20 overs on the back of an outstanding half-century from captain Harmanpreet Kaur and opening batsman Shafali Verma, who fell two runs short of the milestone.

Kaur led from the front and was the team’s leading scorer with 52 of 34 shots, including eight bounds and one six, while Verma was 48 of 33 shots, including nine bounds.

Opening batsman Smriti Mandhana scored a quick 24 from 17 balls at the top of the order to provide her side with a strong start. The rest of the Indian batsmen, however, were still unable to reach double figures.

Left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen was the bowlers’ choice for Australia as she bagged four wickets for 22, while Megan Schutt claimed two. However, Darcie Brown struck out a batter.

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