IND-W vs AUS-W 1st T20I Highlights: India thrashes Australia by nine wickets to take series lead

Full from Wareham and Jemimah sweeps it away for a four. And that is it. India has won by nine wickets, with 14 balls remaining. A huge result, considering how lopsided the head-to-head numbers between the two sides were in favour of the Aussies. 

Full from Wareham and Smriti Mandhana carves it inside out for a four. Five runs needed. Smriti attempts to finish it with a six over long on. McGrath takes a good catch there to break this mammoth opening partnership. 

Smriti Mandhana c McGrath b Wareham 54 (52b 7x4 1x6)

Full from Gardner and Shafali brings out the slog sweep. Huge six over mid wicket. Smriti on strike. Taps an easy single to long off to bring up her fifty. 

IND 133/0 in 15 overs

Second over of the day for Wareham. Smriti begins with a sweep shot, to get a single. Shafali too is dealing in singles, with the win in sight. Five singles from this over. India needs just 18 runs for a famous win. 

DROPPED!!! Shafali hits a length ball straight back to Gardner, who inexplicably spills a regulation catch. Just four singles from the over. 

Wareham gets a tight over in for Australia. Just five singles from it. 

McGrath gets a second crack. Shafali walks down the track to whack it over long off for a six. India running away with it now. Full toss from McGrath now and Shafali puts it away for a four. And that brings up the 100 for India. To make it worse. McGrath gives away a leg side wide and it runs away for a four. A single to long off now brings up Shafali’s fifty. 

IND 115/0 in 12 overs

Healy comes up to the stumps for Schutt. Good length ball and Shafali doesn’t get to it. Edged and flies past Healy for a four. Short from Schutt. Crunched by Shafali to deep mid wicket. But only a single there. On the pads now against Smriti and it is tucked away for a four. 

Innovative from Smriti Mandhana. Gardner continues to keep it straight. The left-handed batter makes room on the off side to paddle scoop for a four. Gardner looks frustrated. 

Tahlia McGrath into the attack for Australia. Shafali with a single to start the over. Half tracker from McGrath and Mandhana picks it over short mid wicket and manages to find the gap. FOUR!!

Healy turns to Gardner for some control. The offspinner offers nothing full. Just four singles from the over. 

Sutherlands errs with her line. Too wide and too much time for Smriti Mandhana. Guides it past point. FOUR!! Now Shafali takes on Sutherland. Full and whacked straight back for a six. India cruising at this point. 

Darcie Brown returns and Smriti welcomes her with a glorious back foot cover drive. FOUR MORE!! Indian openers have gotten into a good rhythm here. Back of a length and Shafali goes after it. Under edge and that too runs away for a four. 

Schutt continues. Shafali and Smriti exchange singles to start the over. Wide length ball from Schutt and Shafali guides it between point and gully for a four. Controlled shot there. Full now from Schutt and creamed through covers by Shafali. Another four.

Sutherland into the attack for Australia. Edge from Smriti and it loops over the cover field. Single taken and that brings up 3000 T20I runs for Smriti. Sixth batter to get there in women’s cricket. Last ball of the over. Smriti picks the length early. Middles it over mid wicket fence. SIX!!

Megan Schutt from the other end for Australia. Full and wide to start with. Smriti can’t put it away. She is yet to get off the mark. Three dot balls to start with from Schutt. Make that four enough. Fifth ball of the over. Smriti tries an expansive shot. Inside edge and a single taken. Shafali on strike. Full from Schutt and Shafali drives it on the up through the covers. FOUR!!

Darcie Brown with the ball for Australia. Smriti Mandhana on strike. Third ball of the over. Leg sideish from Brown and it trickles off Smriti’s pads and runs away for a four. Again the same line from Brown and again it ticks off Smriti’s pads for a four. She goes even wider next ball. Wide and another four. Oh wait. It is a no ball. Smriti now has a freehit. Wide yorker. Skewed to point. No run taken. Eventuful first over. 

No partnerships for Australia saving the Perry-Litchfield partnership of 70-odd runs. 

India improves on the field: After a lot of criticism for the butter fingers on the field, India did have its moments to forget, but were largely clinical in the field, saving runs and taking the catches that matter. Harmanpreet Kaur was involved in four dismissals today. 

IS THIS ENOUGH AGAINST AN INDIAN BATTING ORDER WITH POTENTIAL: 141 certainly makes the task easy for India with the bat. There are players who are still looking for consistent scores and not having the pressure of a high total to chase will help. 

Shreyanka will bowl the 20th over and Georgia Wareham begins with a four off a fuller ball and get it down to the boundary. However, her heroics end there, all out for 141 after Shreyanka amped up the pace. Wareham bit the bait and gave Amanjot a catch at long off. Australia looks at least 40-50 runs short on a wicket that will improve for batters to work their magic on. 

WICKET | Georgia Wareham c AB Kaur b Patil 5 (5b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100

Perry’s resistance ends as she holes out to Amanjot Kaur off Deepti Sharma’s bowling. Megan Schutt comes out. Has played over 100 games for Australia but has had to bat only 15 times. She doesn’t get to spend too much time out in the middle as Deepti catches her leg before. Australia reviews. The ball tracking hands the wickets hitting to the umpire’s call. Schutt walks back. 

WICKETS | Ellyse Perry c AB Kaur b Sharma 37 (30b 2x4 2x6) SR: 123.33, Megan Schutt lbw b Sharma 1 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50

Titas Sadhu returns will be hungry for a wicket here. Sutherland frustrates her a bit by hauling one over deep midwicket for six . She follows that with a smack between fielders through the offside but a fielder gets there, Shreyanka, to stop it from hitting the ropes. But Titas Sadhu will have the last laugh as Sutherland holes out to Harmanpreet at mid off. OH HOLD ON. IS THAT A FIFER? There’s a leg before appeal as Georgia Wareham sees to have copped one on the pads. The umpire’s finger goes up and Wareham immediately goes for the review. OH BUT WICKETS MISSING. Wareham survives and Titas will have to wait for her maiden T20I fifer. What a spell by the 19 year old though. 

WICKETS | Annabel Sutherland c Harmanpreet Kaur b Titas Sadhu 12 (11b 0x4 1x6) SR: 109.09

Six runs off the over for Deepti Sharma as we make way for Titas Sadhu who will come in to bowl her last over for the night. 

Shreyanka keeps it straight. Grace Harris attempts an audacious reverse hit. Doesn’t get anywhere near the ball. Strikes her on her back leg. The umpire concurs with the Indian appeals. LBW!!

Grace Harris lbw b Patil 1 (2b 0x4 0x6)

Shreyanka keeps the pressure on. Four dot balls against the new batter, Sutherland. Just a single from the last ball. 

AUS 120/6 in 16 overs

Second over for Amanjot. Litchfield tries another over-the-top sweep shot and fails to connect again. Amanjot is using her slow balls well and is duly rewarded soon enough. Slower one and cutting away from Amanjot. Litchfield can’t clear Harmanpreet at mid off. 

Phoebe Litchfield c H Kaur b AB Kaur 49 (32b 4x4 3x6)

One more over for Deepti Sharma. The line is tight to start with and she holds Perry for three singles. Full on the leg side, Perry sweeps it away for a single. Litchfield goes for the reverse sweep and adds a couple of reasons. 

First over of the night for Amanjot. She goes short and Litchfield latches onto it. PULLED AWAY FOR A MAXIMUM!! She goes a tad fuller next ball. Litchfield shuffles back and flat bats it for a six over deep square leg. Massive for Australia. 

Reverse sweep from Litchfield against Deepti. Top edged and it floats over short third man. Renuka and Jemimah somehow manages to confuse each other while attempting to go for the catch. MISSED CHANCE!! Short from Deepti and Perry punishes it off her back foot. FOUR!!

Shreyanka with her second over. Litchfield brings out the sweep shot straight away. FOUR!! Short and wide from Shreyanka. Sliced away by Perry. Jemimah makes a diving stop at point to prevent a certain boundary. Nevertheless, Australia gather nine runs from the over. 

Litchfield is in some form and it’s showing. She smacks Pooja Vastrakar for a quick six and a four, going first over square leg for a maximum and then walking down the pitch to send the ball one bounce to the boundary down midwicket. Perry is not one to be left behind. She sees Vastrakar off with a big six behind square leg. 19 runs off the over, the most expensive one so far in this game. 

We will see spin for the first time in this game with the ball given to Shreyanka Patil who impressed during the ODIs. Shreyanka’s ability to control her lines have helped her steer clear of the other debutants in the mix and she channels her strengths. After three ducks, Litchfield awkwardly paddle scoops over the keeper’s head for four. She sweeps, but will send the ball straight to Deepti Sharma at backward point. Five runs conceded. 

Sadhu returns for her third over. Perry and Litchfield see it through without any hiccups. She concedes six runs off the over. 

Powerplay done and India has the evident upper hand. Renuka will bowl out and concedes 8 runs off the over which saw Perry get lucky, getting a boundary through the keeper and slips. Australia will take all the luck it can get now as they look to rebuild. 

Titas Sadhu returns. She’s managing speeds of around 108kmph and has been consistent with her inward movement and as we speak, she gets Tahlia McGrath for a duck! McGrath tries to swing it big and ends up gifting her wicket to Pooja Vastrakar at deep third. The dot ball pressure was getting to the Aussies. She’s not done yet as she dismisses Ashleigh Gardner off her own bowling. AUSTRALIA REELING NOW. Ellyse Perry on 0 and she now has Phoebe Litchfield joining her. 

WICKETS | Tahlia McGrath c Pooja Vastrakar b Titas Sadhu 0 (6b); Ashleigh Gardner c&b Titas Sadhu 0 (1b)

Renuka is back for her third over of the night and for all her effort gets the Aussie skipper Alyssa Healy. Healy first gets a boundary off the seamer through midwicket but falls off the very next ball, holing out to Harmanpreet Kaur at mid off. Ellyse Perry, playing her 299th international game for Australia, joins vice captain Tahlia McGrath. 

WICKET | Alyssa Healy c Harmanpreet Kaur b Renuka Singh Thakur 8 (8b, 1x4) SR: 100

Titas Sadhu comes into the attack. Mooney runs a quick double, collected by Renuka with a dive at the boundary line at deep third. A big appeal for caught behind follows, umpires aren’t interested. India reviews and the umpire’s decision is upheld after a big gap is seen between bat and pad. But Titas will get her wicket as Mooney holes out to Harmanpreet who comes running in from mid on. Tahlia McGrath is the new batter in. Just two runs and a wicket off the Titas’ first.

WICKET | Beth Mooney c Harmanpreet Kaur b Titas Sadhu 17 (18b 1x4 1x6) SR: 94.44

A Mooney maximum! She is using Renuka’s slight inconsistencies to score. Smacked over midwicket for the first six of the innings. She manages four leg byes after attempting a reverse sweep off but the ball misses her bat and Richa and runs down to the boundary. 11 runs off the over. 

Vastrakar takes charge at the other end and Mooney is happy to use her pace to swat the short pitched delivery to the square leg boundary. There is better effort in the field early on in an effort to save every run possible. Healy and Mooney add five more runs in singles to see of Vastrakar. There is a ploy to bowl at a fifth or sixth stump line to Mooney to draw out an edge. 

Changes in the Australian lineup as Phoebe Litchfield drops down to the middle order with Beth Mooney opening with skipper Alyssa Healy. Renuka Singh will open the bowling for India. 

Healy hits Renuka into the gap on the leg side, the shorter part of the ground. That delivery was coming in and she nudges it square for a couple of runs. Renuka continues to bowl into the Aussie skipper, conceding a leg bye and then a wide. There’s a change in plans for Mooney as Renuka tries to draw Mooney out with outswingers. Six runs off the first over with 3 coming from extras. 

There’s a lot riding on the T20Is for both sides with this being solid preparation for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Stay tuned for live scores and analysis from this game. 

There is dew at the D.Y. Patil Stadium, as there was during the Test. There seems to be a slight sprinkle of green, with some promise for the seamers. 

No debutants for India but the side will field four seamers! 

Australia XI: Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Grace Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

India XI: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Renuka Thakur, Shreyanka Patil, Titas Sadhu, Richa Ghosh, Pooja Vastrakar

FOUR SEAMERS: Renuka, Titas, Pooja, Amanjot. This is refreshing change in approach from the Indians who have opted for spin-heavy bowling arsenals traditionally. 

Played: 12

India Women won: 2

Australia Women won: 19

Last Result: Australia Women won by 54 runs (2022; Brabourne)

Played: 31

India Women won: 7 (including one Super Over win)

Australia Women won: 23

No Result - 1

Last Result: Australia won by five runs (2023; Cape Town) - World Cup Semifinal

India Predicted XI: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh Thakur, Shreyanka Patil, Richa Ghosh, Amanjot Kaur, Saika Ishaque/Yastika Bhatia

Australia Predicted XI: Alyssa Healy (c), Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Grace Harris, Ashleigh Gardner, Megan Schutt, Georgia Wareham, Alana King

Grace Harris joined the Aussie contingent during the ODI leg of the series and was seen hitting massive sixes in the net sessions for the side. Is she a sure shot entrant in the Aussie XI? She is the first to come out and get a hit with Alyssa Healy in the run-up to the game. 

The Indian thinktank decided to drop Shafali Verma for the last two ODIs against Australia keeping her poor form in mind. However, India head coach Amol Muzumdar hinted that she is very much in the thick of things especially for the T20Is. Will she return to the lineup today?

The last few weeks have been challenging for Harmanpreet Kaur. Even though the Indian team created history by defeating England and Australia in solitary Tests last month, the captain has had a poor outing with the bat in white-ball cricket.

After managing scores of 26, 9 and 6 in the three T20Is against England, Harmanpreet’s woes continued in the just-concluded three-match ODI series against Australia, with a tally of 17 runs.

However, as the home team gears up for the T20I series against the same opponent, beginning on Friday at the DY Patil Stadium, the India captain is leaving no stone unturned to return to form.

India and Australia were scheduled to play a multiformat series featuring a one-off Test, a 3-match ODI series and a 3-match T20I series. 

Results:

India beat Australia in the one-off Test by eight wickets, their first victory over the Aussies in the history of women’s Tests and in their 11th attempt. Know more here.

Australia brushed the loss aside with an emphatic 3-0 sweep of the ODI series. While India ran the visitors close in the first two games, the third game saw Australia win by a mammoth 190 runs to cement their supremacy. Here are the results:

1st ODI: Australia beat India by six wickets

2nd ODI: Australia beat India by three runs

3rd ODI: Australia beat India by 190 runs

The India Women vs Australia Women 1st T20I match will be played on Friday, January 5 at 7 pm IST. The India Women vs Australia Women 1st T20I match will be telecast on the Sports18 Network in India. Live streaming of the match will be available on Jio Cinema in India.