Smriti Mandhana etched her name in the annals of cricket history with an outstanding century against Australia during the third ODI at W.A.C.A. Ground in Perth. Although her remarkable innings of 105 runs off 109 balls was ultimately in vain, as India lost the match by 83 runs, she achieved a significant milestone by recording her fourth century of the calendar year. In pursuit of a target of 299 runs, Mandhana valiantly carried the batting for her team, keeping India's hopes alive until her dismissal. Following her exit, however, the team experienced a dramatic collapse, plummeting from 189/3 to 210 all out.

Mandhana has emerged as India's most prolific batter in ODIs this year, yet she has often lacked support from her teammates, resulting in missed opportunities to secure victories.

The Indian vice-captain made history by becoming the first female cricketer to score four ODI centuries within a single calendar year. Previously, seven women had achieved three ODI centuries in a year, including South African captain Laura Wolvaardt this year. Others on this distinguished list include Meg Lanning (2016), Nat Sciver-Brunt (2023), Sophie Devine (2018), Sidra Amin (2022), Amy Satterthwaite (2016), and Belinda Clark (1997).

Mandhana's ninth ODI century featured 14 boundaries and a six, bringing her within six of equaling the record for the most ODI centuries, currently held by former Australian captain Meg Lanning with 15.

On the Australian side, middle-order batter Annabel Sutherland also made her mark with a century, scoring 110 runs, contributing to the team's total of 298/6 against India. Ashleigh Gardner (50) and captain Tahlia McGrath (56 not out) provided essential support with the bat.

For India, Arundhati Reddy was a standout performer with the ball, taking four wickets for just 26 runs in her 10 overs.

‘We’ll go back and analyze the whole tour': Harmanpreet Kaur

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur addressed the disappointing 0-3 series defeat, stating that the team would conduct a thorough analysis of their performance upon their return to India.

"We executed our bowling quite effectively, particularly Arundhati. This tour has provided us with numerous lessons regarding both our bowling and batting. We will review the entire tour to identify our shortcomings. Smriti’s innings was exceptional. While we had moments of success, we failed to maintain our momentum, which is an area we need to improve," Harmanpreet remarked following the match.

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