Batting first, Australia went 8 for 172 in 20 overs. In response, India were limited to 151 off seven balls despite Shafali Verma hitting 52 off 41 balls.
Release Date – 12:25 AM, Thu – 12 December 22
Australian players celebrate at the end of the third Women’s Twenty20 International cricket match between India and Australia in Mumbai (Photo: Punit PARANJPE/AFP)
Mumbai: Star all-rounders Ellyse Perry (47 for 75), Grace Harris (41 for 18) and disciplined ball possession led the Australian women’s team to a convincing 21-point win over India in their third T20I match and 2 -1 ahead of Wednesday’s five-game series at Brabourne Stadium.
Batting first, Australia went 8 for 172 in 20 overs. In response, India were limited to 151 off seven balls despite Shafali Verma hitting 52 off 41 balls.
Chasing a challenging total, star performer Smriti Mandhana of the previous match got off to a hard start before she was 1 for 10 to Darcie Brown for 1 out. After her wicket, Shafali and Jemimah Rodrigues reached regular boundaries to maintain the required run rate.
Rodriguez (16) hit three fours off Annabelle Sutherland, but couldn’t go any longer and gave Brown an out in the 5th. Shafali was picked up from Megan Schutt by Ashleigh Gardner to help India lead at 41/2 at the end of the power play.
After the powerplay, Shafali got more aggressive and Alana King had a six before Nicola Carey hit three fours. She and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur made it 79/2 at the halfway stage of the innings.
Harmanpreet, who was suspended for a fumble on King, took advantage of the missed chance to hit two fours on the next King. Shafali, on the other hand, had a lucky break in the 13th inning when she hit Brown’s pitch for extra cover and Tahlia McGrath caught it but the bowler went out of bounds.
The opener struck 50 off 39 balls but Australia hit back with a quick wicket as Carey let Shafari be caught in the deep mid-wicket while Gardner picked up a wicket in the same game. Wickets by Vika Wadia and Richard Ghosh.
In the end, India needed 51 runs from their last four overs, but they were nowhere near their target as Australia took control of the hosts, with Shute hitting Harman Preet’s vital wicket in the 17th over. Gardner conceded just three runs in the 18th over and although Deepti Sharma hit three fours off Carey in the 19th over, 27 in the final was a tall order for India.
Earlier, when it came to batting, Perry was the backbone of Australia’s batting. Early in the second round, Renuka Singh and Anjali Sarvani hit Alyssa Healy and McGrath respectively. Wicket, she came on to bat in the fourth quarter.
Australia fell back at 5/2 but Perry and Beth Mooney led the recovery with 64 overs.
Both Perry and Mooney were dealt within regular boundaries as they helped Australia collect 43 in the Power Play.
Mooney finally got Vaidya out with 22 for 30 and the leg-spinner also got rid of Ashleigh Gardner. However, Perry was not intimidated by the quick wickets as she continued aggressively with a 33-ball 50.
The veteran all-rounder found a capable ally in Harris as he hit sixes off Sarvani and Rajeshwari
Gayakwad let’s get started. They had a brisk half-century standing before Sarvani ended Perry’s batting in the 17th over, before she was hit by two fours by Harris as Australia over 150.
Deepti fired Sutherland cheaply, but she also conceded some boundaries. Harris’ blitz ended in the 19th inning. Deepti then knocked Carey out in the final, dropping just five runs as Australia stayed below 175 despite being hit by Alana King on the line on the final ball.
Brief score: Australia beat India 151/7 (Shafali Verma 52, Harmanpreet Kaur 37; Darcie Brown 2-19) by 21 runs in 20 rounds, 172/8 (Ellyse Perry 75, Grace Harris 41; Renuka Singh 2-24).
