A masterful century from Beth Mooney orchestrated one of the great World Cup comebacks, as Australia recovered from a collapse to seal a 107-run victory over Pakistan in Colombo on Wednesday. After Pakistan's spinners had reduced the reigning champions to 76 for 7, Mooney’s 109 from 114 balls rescued the innings. Her effort, combined with a record-breaking stand with Alana King, allowed Australia to post 221 for 9 before their bowlers dismantled the Pakistan chase.
After the top order crumbled, Mooney anchored the recovery, first with Kim Garth and then in a match-winning 106-run stand for the ninth wicket with Alana King. King contributed an unbeaten 51, the highest-ever score by a No. 10 in women's ODIs, as the pair added 81 runs in the final 10 overs to completely shift the momentum.
Earlier, Pakistan had created themselves an upper hand after choosing to field. Their spin trio of Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal, and Rameen Shamim exploited the slow, turning conditions to perfection, sharing six wickets to leave Australia's batting lineup in tatters. For over 20 overs, it appeared Pakistan were on course for a famous victory, having undone Australia's early application with disciplined and incisive bowling.
Chasing a target of 222, which was far greater than what they had anticipated, Pakistan’s batting lineup was unable to mount a serious challenge against Australia's seam attack. Sidra Amin was the only batter to provide significant resistance with a score of 35. The rest of the order faltered under relentless pressure, and Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 114 in 36.3 overs.
The performance earned high praise from Mooney's teammates, with wicketkeeper and Captain Alyssa Healy calling it "hands down one of the best innings I’ve seen." Mooney herself acknowledged the challenge of the conditions and the quality of the opposition, stating, "I don’t think the gulf is as big as people assume... teams out there now can beat anyone." The result leaves Australia at the top of the points table, while Pakistan remains winless.
