Brisbane, February 24 India put up a lackluster batting performance and were bowled out for 214 in the first women's ODI against Australia, despite solid fifties from Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, here on Tuesday.
Spinner Ashleigh Gardner was the standout bowler for the home team, returning figures of three for 33 in seven overs.
With Kim Garth and Ellyse Perry out of the three-match series due to quad injuries, pacers Megan Schutt and Lucy Hamilton were called up to the side at the last minute.
Megan struck with just two balls, trapping Pratika Rawal in front with a sharp inswinger in the first over of the match. This was Rawal's return to the national team after the ankle injury she sustained during India's successful campaign at the ODI World Cup at home last year.
Batting at number three for the first time, Shafali Verma did not find any rhythm during her short stay at the crease. She eventually offered a straight catch to Darcie Brown.
Mandhana (58 off 68) began with a series of boundaries past the slip cordon before producing a series of exquisite drives off the pace bowlers.
The spinners maintained pressure in the middle overs, with Gardner having Jemimah Rodrigues caught behind with a full ball that straightened slightly to take the outside edge.
After Mandhana and Deepti Sharma fell to the sweep shot, Harmanpreet (53 off 84) played a stabilizing innings. However, she too fell to the sweep shot in the deep off Gardner.
Kashvee Gautam (43 off 44) took the total past 200 and impressed with her ability to hit sixes, despite the disappointing batting performance from the visitors. She hit three sixes in total, including a straight one over long-on off Megan.
