Sophie Molineux and Annabel Sutherland’s impressive spells have helped Australia to post an 89-run victory against New Zealand in the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 on October 01 at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore.

The duo went on to take 3-wicket hauls off each and dismantled New Zealand’s batting lineup.

Batting first, Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield opened the innings for Australia while Bree Illing opened the bowling attack.

Bree Illing went on to bag the wicket of Alyssa Healy for 19 runs. With Litchfield and Ellyse Perry at crease, Australia went on to score 81 runs in the powerplay.

However Lea Tahuhu went on to bag the wickets of Ellyse Perry and Beth Mooney for 33 and 12 runs respectively.

With Sutherland’s dismissal Australia struggled slightly in the middle order. However, Ashleigh Gardner went on to smash a century and made a decent partnerships with Tahlia McGarth and Sophie Molineux has helped the side to cross 250 run mark.

With Kim Garth’s 38 runs, Australia went on to score 326 runs losing all 10 wickets with three balls remaining in the innings.

Lea Tahuhu and Jess Kerr picked three wickets each while Bree Illing and Amelia Kerr bagged two wickets each to bowl out Australia for 326 runs.

In the pursuit of chasing 327 runs, Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer opened the innings while Kim Garth opened the bowling attack.

With Georgia Plimmer got dismissed on a runout, Suzie Bates got dismissed by Sophie Molineux on a duck.

With the dismissal of duo, Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine made a decent partnership of 75 for the third wicket.

With Alana King bagged the wicket of Kerr for 33 runs, Brooke Halliday joined Devine on on the run chase where she scored 28 runs. With Maddy Green and Isabella Gaze scored 20 and 28 runs each, Sophie Devine went on to smash a century.

With her dismissal, New Zealand women couldn’t stand a chance as the low order got dismissed on single digit scores. Eventually, White Ferns got bowled out for 237 runs and suffered 89 run defeat.

Sophie Molineux and Annabel Sutherland bagged three wickets each while, Alana King bagged two wickets.

Ashleigh Gardner was named the Player of the Match. Speaking at the post match presentation, Gardner said, “It was really special. When I got into the middle, had some very clear plans. Wanted to score off as many balls as possible. Always knew we needed a big total here.”

“Devine batted brilliantly, made it tough for our bowlers to settle. Going to be a trend in this World Cup to get as many as possible on the board. Just trying to keep my game as simple as possible.”

“I feel when I’m hitting the boundary riders hard, and running hard, that gets me going. Having partnerships with my teammates is pretty crucial. We bat all the way down so we have that freedom and confidence within our group. Love coming in those pressure situations and take the game on.”

Australia Women will play their next game against Sri Lanka Women on October 04 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.