Indian women’s cricket team suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Australia in the second ODI at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday (December 12).

After the game, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur rued the Indian batters' lack of "match awareness" during the crucial middle overs.

Despite appearing in control of the proceedings during the chase of 259, the Women in Blue faltered in the middle phase of the innings to lose the match by three runs.

"Stopping them under 300 was a positive. We knew we could've chased it but didn't show enough awareness in the middle overs," Harmanpreet stated at the post-match presentation.

India’s fielding was below par in the second ODI as the hosts dropped a total of seven catches. However, the Indian captain said it’s part of the game.

"Dropped catches are part of the game. Important to bounce back," she added.

Chasing the target, Richa Ghosh played a brilliant knock of 96 while Jemimah Rodrigues made a crucial contribution of 44 but other batters failed to make a mark as India managed 255/8 in their allotted 50 overs.

"We bowled really well. We knew we had to keep looking for wickets. Lots of positives. I know they took the game away. I'm proud of the team, the way we played. We needed a bit more awareness late in the chase.

"Richa played really well, Jemi (Jemimah Rodrigues ) helped her in the middle," Kaur remarked.

With this loss, India conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead to Australia in the three-match ODI series. The third and final ODI will be played at the same venue in Mumbai on January 2.

Following the ODI series, the two teams will square off in a three-match T20I series, starting January 5.