India-W go down fighting as Ellyse Perry propels Australia to a series-levelling win

Despite a roaring start to the T20I series, the Indian women lost momentum as they slumped down to Australia in the second match, failing to defend a 131-run target in Navi Mumbai. The battle did go down the wire but a controlled batting masterclass from RCB all-rounder, Ellyse Perry, sealed the fate of the contest in Australia’s favour.

Winning the toss, Australia opted to bowl first and the Indian batters were consumed by the early jitters. They lost Shafali Verma for just one while Jemimah Rodrigues couldn’t add much of a score either as she departed for 13. Smriti Mandhana did try to knit a solid shard of resistance but succumbed to Annabel Sutherland for 23.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur had another mediocre outing as she fell for just six, leaving India wobbling at 54/4. Richa Ghosh and all-rounder Deepti Sharma did come together to help India fight back the Aussie invasion but the resurgence was cut short midway as the former fell for 23.

The hosts never really got back their foothold despite Deepti fighting till the very end with a gritty 30, only for India to wilt within 130/8 at the end of their allotment of 20 overs. Kim Garth, Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham shared six wickets between them to leave the Indian juggernaut stuttering.

The Aussie opening pair of Alyssa Healy (26) and Beth Mooney (20) did get off to a breezy start, but the Indian bowlers drew the reins back as the required rate started making the visitors uncomfortable.

Deepti removed Healy to give India their first wicket of the evening while her second blow came in quick succession as off-spinner removed Beth Mooney. Tahlia McGrath fell for a well-fought 19 as Shreyanka Patil managed to produce an all-important edge while Pooja Vastrakar reignited the Indian hopes with the prized wicket of Ashleigh Gardner (7).

However, snuffing out the Indian resistance, Ellyse Perry (34) came together with an in-form Phoebe Litchfield (18) to avoid any further mishaps for the visitors, getting Australia across the line as they levelled the series, winning the contest by six wickets.