Highlight
A four-wicket victory over India in the second T20I for women was achieved by Australia.
In 20 overs, India had amassed 118/9 runs.
To that end, Australia managed to beat the deadline by five runs.
Australia beat India by four wickets in the second women’s T20I thanks to Tahlia McGrath’s heroics late in the game.
Australia beat India by four wickets in the second women’s T20 International and clinched the multi-format series 9-5 despite a valiant effort by Indian bowlers with very few runs on the board. India struggled to 118 all out in their first innings, thanks largely to Pooja Vastrakar’s 37 off 26 balls. It took Australia 19.1 overs to score the runs, thanks to a game-changing 14 runs from rookie McGrath (42 not out off 33 balls) in Shikha Pandey’s 18th over. Due to Renuka Singh’s inexperience, India lost the game in the 19th over, which yielded 13 runs, and was won by McGrath, who was playing in her second T20 International.
Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s captain, admitted after the game that his team fell short by 20 runs.
Alyssa Healy’s (4) defense was breached by Pandey’s (1/27 in 4 overs) jagged back delivery, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad then took control of the middle overs by dismissing Meg Lanning (15), drawing the Southern Stars skipper out with a flighted delivery and letting the ball grip enough to beat her.
A half-tracker from Harmanpreet went straight to point fielder Gayakwad after Ashleigh Gardener (1) slammed it into her.
As Harmanpreet timed her jump at the cover perfectly, Deepti Sharma got the dangerous Ellyse Perry (1), leaving Australia at 46 for four.
For the majority of McGrath’s innings, Beth Mooney (34 off 36 balls) played it safe. On this particular day, the Indian outfielders played appallingly.
Mooney’s dismissal by Gayakwad, as well as the dismissal of Carey in the same over, appeared to put India in a position to mount a comeback at 94 for six. However, Pandey and Renuka were unable to bowl tight lines to stop McGrath from leading her team to a victory.
When India was put in to bat, Vastrakar put on a fine power-hitting display, scoring 36 not out off 27 balls to help India reach 118 all out after being reduced to 81-9 in their first innings. She has matured as an all-rounder this tour, earning the nickname “Chota Hardik” from her Test captain Mithali Raj.
In the end, she smashed three fours and two sixes to keep India in the game on a good batting track.
Even though they lost to the Southern Stars, Vastrakar’s clutch hitting gave them a fighting chance.
Intriguingly, India was 81-9 after 17 overs, and the visitors scored 37 runs in the final three overs, with Vastrakar scoring all of her runs alongside Gayakwad, who was unable to open her bank account.
In the second game, Indian batsmen flattered to deceive after their fearless batting was lauded. Only skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (28 off 20 balls) showed the intent to return the attack to the opposition’s base.
Instead, the batting line-up collapsed, with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma getting out for just 18 runs off the bowling of Tayla Vlaeminck (2/18).
Spinners Sophie Molineux (2/11 in 4 overs) and Ashleigh Gardner (1/12 in 4 overs) then stifled the batters with 27 dot balls and three wickets in the middle overs, breaking their batting backbone.
