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All-rounder Ellyse Perry’s 75 off 47 balls and a quickfire knock of 41 off 18 balls by Grace Harris guided Australia Women to a convincing 21-run win in the third T20I against India to go up 2-1 in the five-match series at Brabourne Stadium, on Wednesday.
After being asked to bat first, Australia posted 172 for 8 in 20 overs. In reply, India were restricted to 151 for 7 despite a 41-ball 52 by Shafali Verma.
Australia win the third T20I by 21 runs.#TeamIndia will look to bounce back in the next game 👍
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/jH1N1O1Koc #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/K8MAATKJ8O
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 14, 2022
Chasing a daunting total, the previous game’s star performer Smriti Mandhana struggled initially to get going before she was dismissed to Darcie Brown for 1 off 10. After her wicket, Shafali and Jemimah Rodrigues ensured they score regular boundaries to maintain the required run rate.
Rodrigues scored three fours off Annabel Sutherland but couldn’t continue longer as she got out lbw on 16 off 11 balls to Brown in the 5th over. Shafali, who was dropped by Ashleigh Gardner off Megan Schutt, helped India to end the powerplay at 41/2.
After the end of powerplay, Shafali shifted the gear and became more aggressive to hit a six off Alana King followed by three fours to Nicola Carey. With the help of Shafali and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, India managed to put up a total of 79/2 at the halfway stage of their innings.
Harmanpreet, who was reprieved by a missed stumping from skipper Alyssa Healy in a King over, capitalised on the missed chance by striking two fours in the next King over. On the other hand, Shafali got a lucky break in the 13th over as she got out caught at extra cover off a no-ball from Brown.
Shafali brought up her fifty off 39 balls but Australia was back in the game with quick wickets as Carey had Shafali caught at deep mid-wicket while Gardner picked up the wickets of Devika Vaidya and Richa Ghosh in the same over.
Eventually, India needed 51 off the last four overs but they fell well short of the target as Australia kept the hosts in check, with Schutt taking the crucial wicket of Harmanpreet in the 17th over. Gardner was disciplined and gave away just three runs in the 18th over. Despite Deepti Sharma striking three fours off Carey in 19th over, scoring 27 off the final over was too big a task for India.
Earlier, put into bat, Perry was the backbone of Australia’s batting effort. She came to bat at No.4 as early as the second over as Renuka Singh and Anjali Sarvani bagged the wickets of Alyssa Healy and McGrath respectively.
Australia were struggling at 5/2 but Perry and left-hander Beth Mooney helped Australia recover from the initial setback through a 64-run partnership. Both Perry and Mooney scored regular boundaries as they helped Australia collect 43 in the powerplay.
Mooney finally got out to Vaidya for 30 off 22 with four fours while the leg-spinner also got rid of Ashleigh Gardner. But, Perry wasn’t deterred by the quick wickets as she continued positively, bringing up a 33-ball fifty.
The veteran all-rounder found a capable partner in Harris who struck sixes off Sarvani and Rajeshwari Gayakwad to get going. They both stitched a brisk half-century stand before Sarvani ended Perry’s knock in the 17th over before she was hit for two fours by Harris as Australia went past 150.
Deepti dismissed Sutherland cheaply but she also went for a couple of boundaries. Harris’s blitz eventually came to an end in the 19th over. Thereafter, Deepti dismissed Carey in the final over and gave away only five runs despite being hit for a boundary off the last ball by Alana King as Australia were kept under 175.
Ellyse Perry was awarded Player of the Match for her brilliant knock of 75 off 47 balls with nine fours and three sixes.
Brief scores: Australia 172/8 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 75, Grace Harris 41; Renuka Singh 2-24) beat India 151/7 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 52, Harmanpreet Kaur 37; Darcie Brown 2-19) by 21 runs.
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