At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Beth Mooney hit the joint second-fastest hundred in the history of women’s ODIs. Hours later, Smriti Mandhana broke her record.
Smriti Mandhana eclipses Mooney within hours
Smriti Mandhana, the India vice-captain, raced to a 50-ball century, snatching the second spot from Mooney hours after the latter's 57-ball ton. Leading India's strong response, she cracked her 13th ODI ton and the second of this series.
Beth Mooney scores 57-ball century in series decider vs India
After India levelled the three-match series with a massive win in Mullanpur, Australia took off from the onset after Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to bat in the decider at Delhi.
Healy herself blazed away before hitting Kranti Goud to mid-off for an 18-ball 30, but by then Australia were already scoring at nearly ten an over. By the time Healy’s opening partner Georgia Voll fell for 81 in 68 balls, Australia had amassed 150 in a shade over 21 overs.
With batters stacked up to No.8, Ellyse Perry (68 in 72 balls) and Mooney did not need to slow down. The third wicket produced 106 in a mere 71 balls of incredible hitting as the Indians were insipid on a flat surface.
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Having needed only 31 balls for her first fifty, Mooney continued with the carnage. She put Goud away for three fours in the 37th over, two of which were deft placements – behind the wicketkeeper and past deep point. These took her to 98.
When she got the strike in the next over, the ball slipped from Radha Yadav’s hand and came at her. Mooney found little trouble in dispatching the shoulder-high full-toss – a no-ball, of course – to the fence, and promptly put the next ball to the mid-wicket boundary.
The first of these shots took her to the joint second-fastest hundred in the history of the format. Her compatriots Meg Lanning and Karen Rolton occupy the other two spots in the top three.
3rd ODI, India Women vs Australia Women
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Fastest women's ODI centuries, full list
| Balls | Name | For | Against | Venue | Season |
| 45 | Meg Lanning | Australia | New Zealand | Sydney | 2012/13 |
| 50 | Smriti Mandhana | India | Australia | Delhi | 2024/25 |
| 57 | Karen Rolton | Australia | South Africa | Lincoln | 2000/01 |
| 57 | Beth Mooney | Australia | India | Delhi | 2024/25 |
| 59 | Sophie Devine | New Zealand | Ireland | Dublin | 2018 |
As is evident, this is also the fastest ODI hundred against India. Mooney beat Perry’s 72-ball hundred at Brisbane in 2024/25. It is worth a mention that Smriti Mandhana smashed a 77-ball hundred, the second-fastest for India and the fastest against Australia, in the second ODI.
Mooney marched on after losing Ash Gardner for a 24-ball 39. She was eventually run out by Renuka Singh Thakur for a 75-ball 138. Her dismissal left Australia 379-6, and they were eventually bowled out for 412 in 47.5 overs. That is their joint-highest ODI total, alongside 412-3 against Denmark at the 1997 World Cup.
