Aussie stuns with 40C century

Annabel Sutherland continued her love affair with the WACA blasting a sizzling century in scorching conditions to keep Australia’s decade-long dominance of the ICC Women’s ODI Championship, and of India, on track.

But the win was soured by a potential knee injury to breakthrough batter Georgia Voll who hurt herself in the field as a maiden five-wicket haul from Ash Gardner, after some early Indian fight, delivered the 84-run victory and a 3-0 series sweep.

Regarded by plenty as a future Australian captain, Sutherland steadied a stumbling ship in temperatures nudging 40C, scoring a second ODI hundred, the first Aussie to do so batting at number five or lower, reaching the milestone with a six in the final over before being run out for 110, helping the home side net 6-298.

It took Australia’s mammoth run haul across the past to games to 669 runs and proved more than the visitors could handle despite a century from Indian opening gun Smriti Mandhana.

Her dismissal for 105, bowled by Gardner (5-30) with the Aussies under pressure in their defence, signalled the end of the feisty final push from the visitors who lost 3-0 in the space of five balls and reduced from 3-184 to all out 215, handing Australia a seventh straight ODI win in clashes between the two rivals.

It came after Sutherland, 23, who already nailed a Test double-century at the same venue in February this year registered the highest score in a women’s ODI with her 95-ball innings, smashing four sixes and nine fours to rescue Australia, who had secured the series already by winning the opening two games, from 4-78.

She put together partnerships of 96 with Gardner (50) and then 122 with skipper Tahlia McGrath (56 not out), and was still going strong at the end despite the torturous heat, with a four and two sixes Sutherland’s final three scoring shots.

The win cemented a clean sweep and came after twin 21-year-old’s Voll and Phoebe Litchfield put on a 58-run opening stand before the dismissal of third-gamer Voll, who was out for 26, dropping her ODI average from 147 to just 86, began a collapse.

Australia lost 4-20, including superstar Ellyse Perry in game 150, Indian seamer Arundhati Reddy taking all four scalps.

But the depth of the Australian batting order has long been the strength of a team which has lost just four of its past 45 matches, a stretch dating back to the start of 2020.

The victory was achieved without injured skipper Alyssa Healy, who could return as a batter only for the upcoming three match series against New Zealand which could secure Australia yet another ODI Championship title.

Now four points clear on top of the table, which covers results from 2022-25, three more victories against the Kiwis would lock in a crown Australia has won every time since its inception in 2014.