Annabel Sutherland put brakes on Team India's innings by taking 5 wickets.Image Credit source: Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

It happened just as I feared. The player who was said to be a big threat in the Women's World Cup 2025 match against Australia, proved it right. In this World Cup match in Visakhapatnam, Team India batted first and made a big score of 330 runs. This score could have been more than 350 runs but Australia's young all-rounder Annabel Sutherland ruined this effort and intention. Sutherland, who was celebrating her 24th birthday on the day of the match i.e. 12th October, took 5 wickets of Team India with her medium pace bowling. With this she made a special record in the history of women's cricket.

This was only the fourth match between India and Australia in the ICC Women's World Cup 2025. Team India's World Cup and overall ODI record against Australia was very bad. In such a situation, he needed to perform well on every front. Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal finally batted in this tournament and both made a partnership of 155 runs. After his innings, the rest of the players in the batting order also scored runs rapidly. But whenever any batsman seemed to be set, Sutherland came and dismissed him.

It started with Pratika Raval, who was dismissed by Sutherland in the 31st over of the innings.

Then this bowler made the next attack, when Team India was very close to 300 runs in 42 overs. At the crease, Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodriguez were scoring runs rapidly and were dominating. But Annabel Sutherland sent Richa and Jemima back to the pavilion in her two consecutive overs (43 and 45). This dealt a blow to Team India's hopes of crossing 350 and then the innings started faltering. He completed his 5 wickets by taking the last 2 wickets in the 49th over. In this way, in his 9.5 overs, Sutherland gave only 40 runs and took 5 victims.

Sutherland, playing her 45th ODI match, did the feat of taking 5 wickets in an innings for the first time in international cricket. But she not only completed 5 wickets but also created a history which had never happened before in women's cricket. This is the first time in women's ODI, when a player took 5 wickets in an innings on her birthday. But this has happened only once not only in women's cricket, but also in men's ODI. Afghanistan's star spinner Rashid Khan is the only bowler to take 5 wickets in an ODI match on his birthday.