Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues starred as India beat Australia by 17 runs to in the third and final T20I to clinch the series 2-1 at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
The win marked India’s first T20I series win against Australia in a decade. It is also Australia’s first series loss across formats at home since 2017.
Opting to bat first, India post a daunting 176/6 in their quota of 20 overs. Though they didn’t have the best of starts with opener Shafali Verma falling cheaply, Mandhana (82) and Rodrigues (59) solidified the innings with a 121-run stand for the second wicket.
While Rodrigues took her time to settle in and was far from her explosive best, hitting only four boundaries in her 46-ball stay, she was impeccable with in rotating the strike and her running between the wickets.
Mandhana, meanwhile, did what she does the best. The southpaw hit eight boundaries and three sixes in her 55-ball innings. She looked well set for a century before she was snapped up by Annabel Sutherland in the 17th over, leaving India at 140/2.
“Jemi coming in and making me run all those twos, but yeah, I think really good partnership,” joked Mandhana as she received her Player of the Match award.
Richa Ghosh scored a 7-ball 18 later in the innings, to help India push the total past the 170-run mark.
Later the Indian bowlers were all overs the Australian batters, leaving the hosts reeling at 32/3 in just 3.2 overs.
While Renuka Thakur removed the experienced Beth Mooney, it was the off-spin of Shreyanka Patil with did major damage with the new ball. She prized out both Georgia Voll and Ellyse Perry to give India the upper hand.
Later, Arundhati Reddy removed the dangerous Ashleigh Gardner for 57, while Sree Charani also chipped in with three crucial wickets as India completed a famous series win.
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