Key events
India win by 17 runs
Megan Maurice
India put themselves on the front foot in this multi-format series with a 2-1 win in the T20 series. They batted very well and set a strong total to put the pressure on Australia, setting a very tricky chase for the home team. However, Australia are a team that are capable of chasing big totals, so the bowling also had to be good to secure the win.
Shreyanka Patil was incredibly impressive, taking the wickets of Voll, Perry and Sutherland to halt the chase in its tracks and keep on amping up the pressure for Australia. Aside from Gardner, none of the Australians managed a big score and Litchfield losing her wicket going for the switch hit two balls in a row stands out as a turning point of the match in hindsight.
This T20 series was an opportunity for Molineux to put her stamp on the team as captain and she will be disappointed with how it played out. The field placings did not seem to be working for Australia tonight – countless chances went up in the air and landed in empty grass without a fielder close by. In contrast, Harmanpreet seemed to have her field placed exactly where she wanted it and plenty of catches went to hand – especially early in Australia’s innings when India needed to apply the pressure.
It was a fascinating series within a series and no doubt the next leg (three ODIs) will provide just as much entertainment! But for the T20s, that is all there is – a win for India and disappointment for Australia. The first ODI gets underway on Tuesday in Brisbane – make sure you join us for that one!
Thanks for your company throughout the T20s and I look forward to guiding you through another match very soon.
Player of the Match: Smriti Mandhana
For her superb 82, Smriti is the player of the match tonight and she’s very happy with the effort by the team.
“Beating Australia in Australia is something really special and I’m really glad I could contribute.”
It’s a well deserved honour for a player who was at her calm and controlled best tonight.
20th over: Australia 159-9 (Brown 8, Garth 7)
Deepti comes on to bowl the final over of the match to try to see India home. She starts it very well, only allowing three singles from the first three balls. It will only require fairly sensible bowling to ensure they get the win from here. Brown manages to pick up a boundary, but it’s too little, too late with too many runs to chase. Australia finishes with a single and India celebrate a great win.
19th over: Australia 150-9 (Brown 3, Garth 4)
Arundhati gets a fourth over after two important wickets. Brown tries to give herself plenty of room and picks up a two from a thick inside edge on the second ball of the over. Garth then manages to get herself back on strike with good backing up from the non-striker’s end and keeps the strike with a well run two. But she can’t find many more runs in the over and it’s set up a very tough final over for the home team.
18th over: Australia 144-9 (Brown 1, Garth 1)
Shreyanka comes back to bowl her final over and Sutherland starts it aggressively with a four past deep cover. Australia have done a good job at getting early boundaries each over, but India have managed to fight back after tough starts to many of their overs. Shreyanka removes Sutherland to get her fourth wicket and Australia are now relying on their 10 and 11 to get them over the line.
WICKET! Sutherland lbw Shreyanka 14 (Australia 143-9)
Sutherland has to try to go big on as many balls as possible and she gets down to reverse sweep this one and misses it. It thumps into her pads and a review can’t save her, she has to go.
17th over: Australia 137-8 (Sutherland 9, Garth 0)
Harris is on strike to start Charani’s final over and she leaves the first ball, which is a good decision as it’s given a wide. But next ball she gets too deep in her crease and stands on her stumps while smashing a ball for four. Molineux comes in and manages to hit one for four without standing on her stumps, which is good innovation from the captain. There’s another wide and then a big lbw appeal and a long discussion about whether they will review it, but they opt not to. A run out attempt following a misfield on the next ball and it seems like this over has everything. And it truly does when Molineux is out lbw next ball.
WICKET! Molineux lbw Charani 6 (Australia 137-8)
Molineux reviews this one fairly confidently, but that might just be because they’ve got reviews in hand and not many batters in the shed. She’s out, although the impact is umpire’s call, so they hold on to the review at least.
WICKET! Harris hit wicket b Charani 1 (Australia 130-7)
Harris smashed the ball for four, but in doing so, she steps on her stumps and she has to go with a lot of work still to be done for Australia.
16th over: Australia 129-6 (Sutherland 9, Harris 1)
Gardner starts this over with a boundary as well, guiding one around the corner for four from Arundhati’s bowling, and brings up her 50. She does the same thing next ball and is really putting the pressure back on Arundhati and India. Sutherland tries to go big as well, but only manages a single. That brings Gardner back on strike and she can’t keep up the big hitting and is dismissed, bringing Harris to the crease.
WICKET! Gardner c Jemimah b Arundhati 57 (Australia 128-6)
Just as Gardner is really looking like she will bring Australia home, the pressure of the need to maintain an extremely high strike rate brings her undone and Jemimah takes a sensational diving catch to send her on her way.
15th over: Australia 118-5 (Sutherland 8, Gardner 48)
Gardner knows it’s time to really start making a dent in that required run rate and she starts Charani’s over with a six over deep midwicket. Charani recovers with a dot and a one to bring Sutherland on strike still early in her innings. But she’s clearly feeling confident already, reverse sweeping for four – a shot we don’t see all that often from her.
14th over: Australia 105-5 (Sutherland 3, Gardner 40)
Shreyanka has been the pick of the bowlers tonight and Harmanpreet turns to her now to really turn the screws on Australia. She nearly gets her third wicket, but Renuka drops a simple catch to give her a life. It’s another good over for Shreyanka, despite the missed catch opportunity.
13th over: Australia 98-5 (Sutherland 0, Gardner 36)
Arundhati gets her second over and just like last over, it starts with a two and a four, but this time it’s Gardner scoring. Good signs for Australia with both batters scoring fairly freely and managing boundaries early in the over to alleviate some of the pressure of the run chase. However no sooner do I say that than Wareham is out and they have to rebuild again.
WICKET! Wareham c Amanjot b Arundhati 12 (Australia 98-5)
Wareham had just started to find some momentum, but she’s undone by a full toss that she swings wildly at and Amanjot juggles and then takes the catch.
12th over: Australia 89-4 (Wareham 11, Gardner 28)
Wareham starts Deepti’s over positively, splitting the fielders and running strongly for a two and then gets down for a sweep shot and finds her first boundary. Deepti tightens up her length and closes out the over well after an expensive start.
11th over: Australia 81-4 (Wareham 4, Gardner 27)
Another over from Charani and Wareham gets some strike to see what she can do at number 6. It’s fairly bold to put her in ahead of Sutherland and Harris, but perhaps she can show tonight exactly why she’s there. Charani nearly gets a run out of Gardner from a return shot, but can’t control the ball.
10th over: Australia 78-4 (Wareham 2, Gardner 26)
Amanjot bowls her first over of the match and Gardner starts it with a four. Rain is starting to fall in Adelaide now – we’ll see if it becomes heavy enough to halt the match at all, but for now they play on, with Australia behind on DLS. Amanjot then drops a simple caught and bowled chance to finish the over. Drinks are on the field now.
9th over: Australia 67-4 (Wareham 1, Gardner 18)
Charani bowls her first over of the night and Litchfield switch hits her for four, then tries it again and loses her wicket. Wareham comes to the crease and immediately does better than her Canberra diamond duck with a single. Gardner mistimes one, but it lands between fielders – another little let off for her.
WICKET! Litchfield c Shafali b Charani 26 (Australia 63-4)
Litchfield goes for one too many switch hits, catches her bat on the ground, which takes the power out of the shot and sends up a simple catch for Shafali.
8th over: Australia 59-3 (Litchfield 22, Gardner 15)
Litchfield faces up to Deepti, looking to build into her innings. She pulls out the reverse sweep again , but she can only get one run from it to bring Gardner back on strike. Gardner rotates the strike and Litchfield goes for a traditional sweep, top edges it, but it lands safely. She then pulls out the switch hit – this is a real bouquet of shots from Litchfield in this over!
7th over: Australia 54-3 (Litchfield 19, Gardner 14)
Arundhati bowls her first over of the evening and there’s a big appeal for lbw on Gardner from the first ball of the over. The umpire isn’t interested, but India decide to review. It turns out the umpire was correct though and India lose a review. Gardner flicks one down to deep backward square for two, then puts a catching chance up in the air, but as we’ve seen so often tonight, it falls safely between fielders. She makes the most of her luck and drives the next ball for four – she’s starting to find some runs now.
6th over: Australia 44-3 (Litchfield 18, Gardner 5)
Deepti comes into the attack for the first time and Gardner again finds herself trapped on strike and unable to do much about it. Eventually she manages to chip one up and over the infield to get a single and get Litchfield on strike. Immediately, she can find more gaps in the field, with a well run two and then a reverse sweep for four.
5th over: Australia 37-3 (Litchfield 12, Gardner 4)
Renuka bowls her third over on the trot and dots up Gardner from the first four balls. She breaks her run of dots with a wide, but it doesn’t ease the frustration from Gardner who desperately wants to feel some bat on ball. The next ball is another dot and her frustration grows. Finally she finds what she’s looking for on the last ball of the over, with a shot that pierces the gap through covers and they run a good three.
4th over: Australia 33-3 (Litchfield 12, Gardner 1)
Litchfield gets straight into action at the start of Shreyanka’s second over with a drive past long off for four. She gets Perry back on strike and Shreyanka removes her – she almost appeals after clean bowling her, so shocked is she that she’s taken down this superstar. Gardner comes to the crease with a mountain of work to do for Australia.
WICKET! Perry b Shreyanka 1 (Australia 32-3)
There won’t be a a fairytale for Perry tonight, deceived by Shreyanka’s spin and clean bowled.
3rd over: Australia 27-2 (Litchfield 7, Perry 1)
Harmanpreet keeps the faith in Renuka after a poor first over and brings her back for a second in a move that immediately pays off when she gets Mooney’s wicket. This brings Perry to the crease in her 350th game – what fairytale can she weave tonight? Litchfield gets things moving with a boundary to relieve some pressure.
WICKET! Mooney c Charani b Renuka 6 (Australia 21-2)
A great recovery from Renuka lures Mooney into a big pull shot, that falls straight into Charani’s waiting hands.
2nd over: Australia 20-1 (Litchfield 1, Mooney 6)
Shreyanka takes the new ball from the other end with her off spin. She’s almost immediately successful, taking Voll’s wicket. She’ll be very happy with that, after sitting out the second match. Litchfield starts cautiously, seeing off two dots and then she manages to rotate the strike to get Mooney back in the action. There’s a big appeal on Mooney, but it’s pretty clearly not out and Richa manages to talk her teammates out of burning a review.
WICKET! Voll c Renuka b Shreyanka 10 (Australia 19-1)
Voll can’t replicate her big score from Canberra, edging one from Shreyanka straight up in the air for a straightforward catch from Renuka.
1st over: Australia 18-0 (Voll 10, Mooney 5)
Renuka takes the new ball for India and Voll immediately shapes for a ramp, but can’t get bat on ball. It doesn’t bother her though, as next ball she drives it straight back over the bowler’s head for six. Renuka follows Brown’s lead with a few wides thrown into her first over and eventually Mooney gets her first look at the bowling and hits her first ball for four. It’s a very expensive over from Renuka to start the innings!
The players are back on the field and the run chase is about to begin!
I’ve received an email from Rhonda Boag who is unimpressed with the television commentary, particularly some comments from a male commentator who she doesn’t feel is treating the game and the players with the professionalism and respect they deserve. I don’t have a male commentator on the broadcast I’m following, so I can’t comment on that, but I hope you have a more pleasant viewing experience in the second innings Rhonda!
India 176-6
A strong batting performance from India, despite the loss of some late wickets. Especially impressive innings from Smriti and Jemimah, who both scored half centuries at strike rates above 125.
Australia lost their way with their bowling through the middle of the innings, but reeled it back in with some late wickets. Sutherland was once again the pick of the bowlers, despite being hit for more boundaries than she was in Canberra.
It’s an excellent total from India that will take some chasing, but Australia are a team that is capable of chasing down big totals – especially fuelled by the desire to get a win for Perry in her 350th game. India need to replicate their bowling performance from Sydney that brought Australia undone – if they give them a sniff, they’ll run with it and give themselves a chance to run it down.
It’s sure to be an exciting chase coming up, so stay with me as I take you through it!
20th over: India 176-6 (Harmanpreet 2)
Sutherland gets the final over for Australia and she catches Harmanpreet off guard and the first ball is a dot, but next ball she finds some space with a sweep and manages to get Jemimah on strike. However, all Jemimah can do is hit it straight Perry. Amanjot gets a single, but then is run out and Deepti faces the final ball of the match and is run out coming back for two.
WICKET! Deepti run out (Perry, Mooney) 1 (India 176-6)
Deepti edges it up in the air, it falls safely, but Perry has a great arm and gets it in for a simple run out with Deepti trying to come back for two.
WICKET! Amanjot run out (Mooney) 1 (India 175-5)
A mix up between the batters and Mooney takes a few steps to knock the bails off for the run out.
WICKET! Jemimah c Perry b Sutherland 59 (India 174-4)
Sutherland gets the set batter in the final over, luring her into her a drive that flies straight to Perry for a nice catch at mid-off.