Mumbai, Mar 14: After posting a mammoth 300 on the board, Australia skittled India out for 79 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead with one match left in the ODI series. Outplayed in all departments, India lost the second ODI at the Wankhede by 221 runs. After Meg Lanning slammed a magnificent 128, E Perry smothered the Indian batting line-up with a five-for.

Opting to bowl first at the Wankhede Stadium, India got a couple of early wickets but Meg Lanning and Alex Blackwell propelled Australia to a commanding position with a 180-run partnership.

Rumeli Dhar sent back Leah Poulton while left-arm spinner Gouhar Sultana removed Rachel Haynes a few overs later. But Lanning scored at a quick pace while Blackwell played the anchor to put the visitors in the driver’s seat. When the former got out, attempting to hit Ekta Bisht over the ropes, Australia had already crossed the 200-run mark. The 19-year-old slammed 128 off 104 deliveries (19x4, 1x6) to take the team to 227 for three after they had slumped to 47 for two.

In an effort to accelerate the run scoring, the Australia lost the next four wickets for 73 runs. Lisa Sthalekar, who replaced Lanning, nicked Dhar to the keeper in the next over and departed without opening her account. But with the score on 229 for four and with a little more than eight overs to go, the Australians looked to pile on the runs. Blackwell was the next to walk back, stumped for 18 off Reema Malhotra, bringing Australian skipper Jodie Fields to the crease. Both, Jess Cameron and Fields, were dismissed in the last over. After Malhotra failed to hold on to the return catch handed by Cameron, the bowler scooped the ball off the ground and had the batsman run out as she tried to sneak in a single. Fields was castled off the last delivery of the innings.

Chasing a mountainous 301, India lost openers Sulakshana Naik and Poonam Raut with just 23 runs on the board. Charging in from both ends, Australian duo Julie Hunter and Ellyse Perry kept the Indian batsman on a tight leash. Although Hunter went wicketless in her first spell, Perry dealt three crucial bowls. She first claimed Raut with an inswinger, and then bowled Naik in the next over, all in her first spell.

With the openers returning to the pavilion early, it was left to India’s two most experienced campaigners, Anjum Chopra and Mithali Raj, to rescue the Indian innings. However, a few overs later, Perry removed Chopra’s leg-stump to leave the hosts at 35 for three and the rest of the line-up caved in leaving Mithali stranded.

Haynes, who replaced Perry from the Pavilion End, bowled Harmanpreet Kaur and had Dhar caught by Lanning at first slip off consecutive deliveries in her second over but missed out on a hat-trick. In the next over, Malhotra returned to the dressing room after hitting one straight to Perry at deep mid-wicket off Lisa Sthalekar to leave India reeling at 49 for six. Jhulan Goswami, who had replaced Malhotra at the crease, followed her back to the pavilion in the next over without adding to the total. The next to depart for naught was Archana Das, stumped off Jess Jonassen.

Brought back into the attack, Perry bowled Ekta Bisht for three, and claimed Gouhar Sultana too, to wrap up the Indian innings.

Brief scores: Australia 300/7 in 50 overs (M Lanning 128, A Blackwell 81, J Cameron 32) beat India 79 all out in 27.1 overs (M Raj 30, E Perry 5/19, R Haynes 3/10) by 221 runs