The Indian women’s cricket team fell to a 19-run loss against Australia in the second T20I at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Thursday.
The win helped the hosts level the three-match series 1-1 with a match yet to be played. India had won the opening match of the series via DLS method.
Having being put into bat, Australia posted 163/5 in 20 overs, riding on the back of a splendid 57-ball 88 from opener Georgia Voll.
India’s decision to field first backfired almost immediately as openers Voll and Beth Mooney (46) stitched a 128-run stand in just 14.5 overs.
It was only after Arundhati Reddy (2-30) struck twice in two overs to remove both of them that the Indians could breathe a sigh of relief.
The batters who came in later, struggled to find boundaries as India pulled things back exceptionally in the death overs.
Later, the visitors also got off to a good start in the chase with Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana adding 57 runs for the opening wicket in 6.5 overs.
They, however, lost the plot once Verma was trapped leg before wicket by Sophie Molineux for a 23-ball 29.
Jemimah Rodrigues couldn’t get going and Mandhana fell soon after for a 24-ball 31 as India found themselves struggling at 71/3 in 9.4 overs.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (36), who became the most capped player in women’s cricket history with her appearance in the match, and skipper Richa Ghosh (19) kept India in the hunt for a bit but the duo struggled to keep up with the required run rate.
Once Kaur and Ghosh were sent back in consecutive overs, the lower order provided little resistance as India were restricted to 144/9.
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