Updated September 26th, 2021 at 18:03 IST

AUS-W vs IND-W: Sophie Molineux returns to field after getting hit on face; WATCH

Sophie Molineux was hit by the ball after a throw from the outfield awkwardly bounced and hit her on the upper lip, she had to be taken off to get patched up.

Reported by: Prithvi Virmani
Image: Twitter | Image:self
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The Indian women's cricket team led by Mithali Raj ended Australia's unbeaten run in One-day Internationals on Sunday, winning the third and final match of the series by two wickets. The Women in Yellow had not lost an ODI game in their previous 26 appearances, but their record was shattered when they faced India in Mackay this morning.

The game came down to the wire, with Australia looking to seal a win again, but India's lower-order held its nerves and won the game with three balls to spare. Jhulan Goswami hit the winning runs for India as the veteran pacer smashed one straight to the boundary off Sophie Molineux's bowling.

Molineux was hit by the ball after a throw from the outfield awkwardly bounced and hit her on the upper lip. She had to be taken off the field to be checked up. However, that did not keep her out of the match as she walked back out onto the field with her upper lip taped.

Fans of both India and Australia were quick to applaud her for showing strength a never give in attitude as she came back onto the field after the horror injury and bowled a few overs. Some Indian fans said that they were happy to see Molineux doing alright and then applauded her when she was back on the field. Others called her "tough as nails" for bowling with a split lip.

IND W vs AUS W 3rd ODI

Australia Women won the toss and elected to bat first against India at Ray Mitchell Oval stadium in Queensland. Rachael Haynes and Alyssa Healy opened the batting for Australia Women and put up a 41-run partnership before the former was dismissed by Jhulan Goswami for 13 runs. Australian skipper Meg Lanning was then dismissed for a duck by Goswami in the same over. Healy was the next batter to go as she was run out by Rajeshwari Gayakwad for 35 runs. 

Ellyse Perry scored 26 runs in the middle overs before being dismissed by Pooja Vastrakar. Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner then forged a crucial middle-order partnership, taking the score from 87-4 to 185-5 in the next 15 overs. Mooney was dismissed by Sneh Rana for 52 runs, while Gardner was removed for 67 runs by Vastrakar.

Tahlia McGrath then added another 47 runs towards the backend of the Australian innings before she was dismissed by Vastrakar. Nicola Carey contributed 12 runs and remained not-out along with Stella Campbell.

In response, India's top-order batters put up some important runs to provide their team with a solid start in the chase. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana added 59 runs before the latter was dismissed by Gardner for 22 runs. Verma along with Yastika Bhatia forged a 100-run partnership to take India to 160.

Verma was then removed by Sophie Molineux for 56 runs, while Bhatia was dismissed by Campbell for 64 runs. Annabel Sutherland joined the part and dismissed Richa Ghosh for a duck. Skipper Mithali Raj added 16 runs before she was dismissed by Sutherland. Vastrakar followed her skipper after being dismissed by Sutherland too.

Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana added 60 odd runs towards the backend of the Indian innings to take India to 241-7 in 46 overs. Sharma went back to the pavilion for 31 runs, while Rana was sent back for 30 runs. However, the job was almost done for India and the lower-order was only required to provide the finishing touches, which it did by hitting the winning runs.

Goswami smashed a boundary to seal a victory for India. India chased down the target of 265 runs in 49.3 overs. The win is just a consolation for the Indian team as they have lost the series 2-1. 

(Image: Twitter)

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Published September 26th, 2021 at 18:03 IST