Updated On: 28 February, 2026 09:15 AM IST | Hobart | PTI
India women's captain Harmanpreet Kaur conceded that poor batting in the first two ODIs cost India the series against Australia, with the hosts losing the second ODI by five wickets despite half-centuries from Harmanpreet (54) and Pratika Rawal (52). Georgia Voll's century (101) and Phoebe Litchfield's 80 powered Australia's chase

Harmanpreet Kaur
India women's team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on Friday conceded that poor batting in the first two ODIs against Australia led to consecutive defeats in their first 50-over assignment since becoming world champions last November. India made a bright start to pip Australia 2-1 in the T20Is but lost first two ODIs with one match left to be played on Sunday. The two teams, engaged in an all-format series to be decided over points, will also play a one-off Test. India posted 251/9 batting first, riding on fifties from Harmanpreet (54) and Pratika Rawal (52), but the visitors paid a heavy price for dropping multiple catches as Australia won by five wickets and 13.5 overs to spare in second ODI. "Well, definitely we didn't bat well today because as a group we decided that let's bat first and put a 300-plus total on the board because today's pitch was far better than the previous one," Harmanpreet told the broadcaster after the match.
"But unfortunately, we again made the same mistakes and we kept losing wickets in between, and that's why we were short of lots of runs." "No matter whether we bat first or second, we have to bat really well because whenever we bat well, we're always in a good situation. In the last two games we didn't bat well, and that really cost us. It's only about batting well and batting deep, and hopefully in the next game we'll do that," Harmanpreet added. Australia skipper Alyssa Healy, who will play her final match on Sunday before retiring, said she was "pumped" with an ODI win over India. "I'm really pumped with that result. Like I said the other night, I was ecstatic with the way that we went about that chase and to do it again tonight even better, I thought, was outstanding. Pretty pleased with that," Healy said.