India women drop catches and series as Aussies clinch 2nd ODI

When Amol Muzumdar addressed his first press conference as India head coach in early December, he picked fielding as one of his "top priorities".

- Aditya Chaturvedi

In that regard, his team's performance on Saturday would be one he would want to forget in a hurry. Despite a five-for by Deepti Sharma and 96 by Richa Ghosh, Australia rode on India dropping as many as seven regulation catches to win the second women's ODI at the Wankhede Stadium by three runs and seal the series.

While the first ODI ended up being one-sided, Australia completing the second-highest ODI run chase, the second game was a much tighter affair. It was a game of fine margins, and in the end the poor catching cost the hosts dear.

Australia opted to bat first and posted 258/8 thanks to halfcenturies by Phoebe Litchfield and Ellyse Perry. It was Deepti who starred with the ball again and claimed excellent figures of 5/38. In reply, India rode on a courageous knock by Richa but couldn't get the big hits towards the end and finished with 255/8.