LONDON: Defending champions Australia and India overpowered New Zealand and Pakistan respectively in the matches between the neighbours to register their third successive victories in the ICC Women’s World Cup on Sunday.

Australia spoiled Suzie Bates’s 100th ODI by reaching the 220-run target in the penultimate over for the loss of five wickets in Bristol, while India overcame a watchful and cautious batting display to successfully defend a modest score of 169 for nine by bowling Pakistan out for 74 to win by 95 runs in Derby.

Elsewhere, England coasted to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka when it chased down a 205-run target with more than 19 overs to spare in Taunton, while South Africa dismissed the West Indies for 48 - the 17thlowest score in the history of women’s ODIs – before overhauling the target inside seven overs with all 10 wickets intact in Leicester.

After round three of seven, Australia and India are the only unbeaten sides in the tournament, while England and South Africa have won two matches apiece. New Zealand are sitting on one victory whereas Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are still searching for their maiden wins.

Bowlers dominated day seven of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 with India’s Ekta Bisht turning out to be the pick with figures of 10-2-18-5. South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk recorded figures of 3.2-3-0-4, her team-mate Marizanne Kapp finished with analysis of 7-2-14-4, England’s Laura Marsh finished with 10-0-45-4 and Nashra Sandhu of Pakistan’s ended up with figures of 10-1-26-4.

Amongst the batters, Ellyse Perry of Australia, England’s duo of Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor, and New Zealand’s pair of Katie Perkins and Suzie Bates stroked impressive half-centuries.

In a low scoring classic in front of nearly 3,000 spectators, India’s decision to bat first seemed to have backfired when they slumped to 114-6 after 40 overs. However, the eventual score of 169 for nine proved to be too much for Pakistan as they were bundled out for 74 in 38.1 overs after slipping to 51-9.

In tough batting conditions, Punam Raut with 47 off 72 balls inclusive of five fours finished as the top scorer of the match. She was followed by team-mates Sushma Verma (33) and Deepti Sharma (28).

Pakistan’s top scorer was captain Sana Mir (29), while opener Nahida Khan scored 23.

Bowling honours were shared between India’s Ekta Bisht and Nashra Sandhu of Pakistan, who both recorded career-best figures.

Results of other matches:

At Leicester: South Africa beat West Indies by 10 wickets.

WEST INDIES 48 in 25.2 overs (C.N. Nation 26; D. van Niekerk 4-0, M. Kapp 4-14, S. Ismail 2-16); SOUTH AFRICA 51-0 in 6.2 overs (L. Lee 29 not out, L. Wolvaardt 19 not out).

At Taunton: England beat Sri Lanka by even wickets.

SRI LANKA 204-8 in 50 overs (G.W.H.M. Perera 46, K.A.D.A. Kachana 34 not out, H.A.S.D. Siriwardene 33, M.A.D.D. Surangika 28, O.U. Ranasinghe 26; L.A. Marsh 4-45, N.R. Sciver 2-32); ENGLAND 206-3 in 30.2 overs (H.C. Knight 82, S.J. Taylor 74 not out, L. Winfield 26; K.A.D.A. Kachana 2-38).

At Bristol: Australia beat New Zealand by wickets.

NEW ZEALAND 219-9 in 50 overs (K.T. Perkins 52, S.W. Bates 51, E.M. Bermingham 35, A.E. Satterthwaite 21; J.L. Jonassen 3-33, M.L. Schutt 3-40); AUSTRALIA 220-5 in 48.4 overs (E.A. Perry 71, M.M. Lanning 48, A.J. Blackwell 35 not out, B.L. Mooney 32, N.E. Bolton 26; A.M. Peterson 2-27, A.C. Kerr 2-42).

Scoreboard

INDIA:

P.G. Raut c and b Nashra 47

S. Madhana lbw b Diana 2

D.B. Sharma c Sidra b Nashra 28

M. Raj lbw b Nashra 8

H. Kaur c Sana b Sadia 10

M.R. Meshram b Sadia 6

S. Verma c Diana b Asmavia 33

J. Goswami b Nashra 14

M. Joshi not out 4

E. Bisht run out 1

Poonam Yadav not out 6

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-1, W-5) 10

TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 169

FALL OF WKTS: 1-7, 2-74, 3-93, 4-94, 5-107, 6-111, 7-145, 8-159, 9-161.

BOWLING: Asmavia Iqbal 10-0-46-1 (3w); Diana Baig 10-3-28-1; Nashra Sandhu 10-1-26-4 (1w); Sana Mir 10-0-34-0; Sadia Yousuf 10-2-30-2 (1w).

PAKISTAN:

Ayesha Zafar lbw b Bisht 1

Nahida Khan c Verma b Kaur 23

Javeria Khan lbw b Goswami 6

Sidra Nawaz lbw b Bisht 0

Iram Javed lbw b Bisht 0

Nain Abidi b Sharma 5

Asmavia Iqbal c Verma b Joshi 0

Sana Mir b Joshi 29

Nashra Sandhu c Joshi b Bisht 1

Diana Baig b Bisht 0

Sadia Yousuf not out 3

EXTRAS (W-6) 6

TOTAL (all out, 38.1 overs) 74

FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-8, 3-9, 4-14, 5-24, 6-26, 7-44, 8-51, 9-51.

BOWLING: Goswami 5-0-12-1; Bisht 10-2-18-5 (1w); Sharma 10-2-21-1 (1w); Joshi 6.1-2-9-2 (2w); Poonam Yadav 5-1-8-0; Kaur 2-0-6-1.

RESULT: India won by 95 runs.

UMPIRES: G.O. Brathwaite (West Indies) and S. George (South Africa).

TV UMPIRE: P. Wilson (Australia).

MATCH REFEREE: R.B. Richardson (West Indies).

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Ekta Bisht.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2017