‘I had a pretty clear plan’ – Meg Lanning
Lanning won the toss and opted for first strike, and walked in at No.3 after Alyssa Healy was sent back with 24 on the board.
She took a little time settling in, but then hit 19 fours on her way to 124 off 106 balls. The 181-run stand for the fifth wicket with vice-captain Rachael Haynes (79 in 82 balls) well and truly put Pakistan out of the game, and the 273/7 Australia proved far too many for Pakistan, who finished on 123.
🙌 Australia lead series 2-0 🙌
— ICC (@ICC) October 20, 2018
A brilliant 124 from Meg Lanning followed by Sophie Molineux's 4/14 led their side to a convincing win over Pakistan.#PAKWvAUSW 2nd WODI report 👇https://t.co/iUII1SmITk pic.twitter.com/BdENNS2Ai4
“Any hundred is really special. The conditions took a little bit to get used to and were probably different to what we’re accustomed to, so it was good to be able to fight through that at the start,” she said afterwards.
“I had a pretty clear plan about how I wanted to go about my innings and it’s nice to see it come off.”
When Lanning and Haynes got together, Australia were a slightly iffy 54/3. By the end of the 46th over, when she was dismissed, Lanning had put Australia well on top with her 12th ODI century. She is on top of that pile in women’s cricket, with New Zealand’s Suzie Bates second with 10.
It was also her first century since June last year – against Sri Lanka at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 – and therefore the first since her shoulder surgery.
“It was nice to get some runs today. Pakistan put us under pressure early with those wickets and they bowled really tight as well. So we had to work through that. I think on this wicket you need to play really straight, especially early when it sort of skids on and the pads and bowled are in play,” said Lanning.
“I wanted to take my time early and make sure I was being really decisive with my footwork and playing nice and straight. Once you do get the feel of the pitch it felt like it was a really good batting wicket, it came onto the bat nicely.”
Loved getting out on the park against a competitive side in Pakistan!
— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) October 20, 2018
The action continues on Monday as we gun for a series whitewash! #WATCHME pic.twitter.com/ViymczKD8M
On the stand with Haynes, an Australian ODI record for the fourth wicket, Lanning said, “When Rachael Haynes came out she really turned the momentum in our favour and played a few shots over the top that released the pressure.
“That got the innings going and gave me a lot of confidence as well, so I thought we worked well together as a partnership. She was good to bat with today and it was good to get the win.”