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Australia 149 for 3 (Healy 55, Mooney 52*, Vastrakar 2-26) beat India 147 for 6 (Ghosh 34, Sutherland 2-12, Wareham 2-24) by seven wickets
India slide from 60 for 1 to 66 for 4
Shafali had given India a strong start after they were put in by Australia, showing intent right from the first over when she flicked Megan Schutt for four. Kim Garth then bowled three fuller length balls to her in the fourth over and Shafali deposited them all for boundaries too. Shafali added a sixth four to her tally by sending Schutt back over her head in the next over but was out the following ball, caught behind while chasing an outswinger.
Shafali’s early hits allowed Smriti Mandhana the margin to start slow – she scored only 8 off her first 11 deliveries – but she took on the aggressor’s role after her partner’s dismissal. She hammered Ashleigh Gardner for six and four to close out the powerplay on 51 for 1.
That would become 60 for 1, but then India’s three senior batters fell in quick succession. Jemimah Rodrigues chose to pull Sutherland in the eighth over and was caught in the deep for 2. Mandhana then took the gamble of slog sweeping Wareham despite two outfielders on the leg side, and was gone for 29. Harmanpreet Kaur’s poor run with the bat continued when, on 3, she chopped on while driving at Sutherland’s well-disguised slower ball.
Ghosh leads lower-order fightback
Wareham and Sutherland then squeezed India, with Deepti Sharma and Ghosh looking to lead a rebuild from 66 for 4 in ten overs. Relying on the occasional boundary and quick running, the pair added 33 in 4.5 overs. They were separated when Deepti looked to hit Wareham for a six over long-on only to find the fielder.
That, though, did not slow Ghosh down. She clubbed Schutt for six and four in the 16th over and hit a massive six off Wareham in the 17th that damaged the ball beyond use. It was eventually Gardner who, in the final over, dismissed Ghosh for 34 off 28 balls. By then, India were on target for their highest total of the series and Pooja Vastrakar’s last-ball six gave them 147 to defend to close out a first T20I series victory over Australia since 2016.
Mooney anchors, Healy attacks
The foundation stone for India’s win in the opening match of the series was early wickets but they didn’t come on this occasion. Healy quickly changed gears after a watchful start to pummel Titas Sadhu in the fourth over for three fours in three legal balls. She topped that up by smacking Renuka Singh for six, four and four in the fifth over and by the end of the powerplay Australia were 54 for no loss.
Harmanpreet then went to Vastrakar for a breakthrough and appeared to get it straightaway when Healy smacked a full ball to Rodrigues at point. But the TV umpire determined there was no conclusive evidence to deem that a clean catch. Healy carried on and muscled a pull through the leg side in the ninth over to reach her 16th T20I fifty in her 150th T20I, but fell not long after – she was out lbw on review while attempting a reverse sweep off Deepti.
Tahlia McGrath didn’t let Australia’s momentum flag, hitting four fours in her first 10 balls. Even though Vastrakar sent McGrath and Ellyse Perry back off back-to-back deliveries in the 16th over, the presence of the set Mooney at one end always kept Australia ahead. In the company of Phoebe Litchfield, who stayed unbeaten on 17, Mooney drilled fours off consecutive balls in the 19th over to reach her half-century with the winning shot. India last won a T20I-series decider in 2011, and the wait continues.
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx
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