Phoebe Litchfield smashes various records with stunning ton against India

Young Australia opener Phoebe Litchfield has struck a remarkable ton in the third and final ODI against India at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on January 2. The 20-year-old went all guns blazing after Alyssa Healy opted to bat first upon winning the toss. She brought up her third successive half-century in the ongoing series and also shared a crucial 189-run opening stand with Healy, who hit 82 off 85 balls.

Notably, Litchfield has scored 78 and 63 in the first two matches of the series. Australia lost four quick wickets when she was in the nineties but she held her nerves and reached the three-figure mark eventually. Her innings came to an end on 119 (125) as Deepti Sharma sent her back to the pavilion, leaving Australia at 256/5.

Smashing her second ODI ton, the left-handed batter shattered numerous records to etch her name in the history of women's cricket. Litchfield is now the first woman batter to score three 50-plus scores in a three-match ODI series both against and in India. 

The 20-year-old has accumulated a total of 260 runs at a stunning average of 86.66 in the ongoing series and no player scored more runs than her in a three-match ODI series in India. In doing so, she broke the long-standing record of England great Claire Taylor who scored 225 runs in 2006. She set another record, with the most runs by an Australian woman in a three-match ODI series, shattering the record of former captain Meg Lanning’s 246, which she achieved against the Black Caps in 2016.

With the exception of all these, Litchfield also became the second Australian woman batter to score an ODI hundred at Wankhede after Meg Lanning's century at the same venue during the 2013 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. Over and above, the 20-year-old is also the seventh visiting woman to hit a one-day ton in India.