IND vs AUS, 2nd WT20I: Batting collapse costs India dear as Australia level multi-format series with 19-run win in Canberra

Australia’s 19-run win levelled the multi-format series with both teams on 2 points each, heading into the T20I-leg’s decider at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
On a day batters from both sides struggled to find boundaries in the death overs, thanks to longer than usual boundaries and excellent variations of pace combined with pinpoint accuracy, it was Voll’s 57-ball 88, studded with 11 fours and one six, that proved to be the difference.

For India, this was a golden opportunity missed to take a 4-0 lead, as 164 was a winnable target, but they lost their way in a conservative phase of play after starting the run chase on the front foot.

AS IT HAPPENED | INDIA VS AUSTRALIA 2ND WOMEN’S T20I HIGHLIGHTS

Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana put on 54/0 after just 5.3 overs. But after getting hit for back-to-back fours, Annabel Sutherland came back well to finish the over with three dot balls. One was a bouncer that Shafali struggled to duck under. The follow-up delivery was on a good length, and as Shafali defended it back to Sutherland, the bowler gathered the ball and stared down the Indian opener. It wasn’t over-the-top aggression, but it was the first sign that Australia were up for this fight — the famous Aussie intensity was finally on display.

Not that they weren’t aggressive in the opening T20I in Sydney; if anything, they seemed to be trying too hard to make a statement. It translated into rash shots, miscalculated risks and getting bowled out in 18 overs on a pitch that had no demons. But in Canberra, there was a measured intensity and conviction on the field, like that Sutherland stare.

What was more tangible was how Australia restricted the boundaries. Starting from the sixth over, they bowled 29 straight deliveries without a four or six. India were largely restricted to singles, the running between the wickets not up to the mark either, as they missed out on utilising the deeper pockets in the ground. That dry phase of nearly five overs accounted for the wickets of Shafali, Smriti and Jemimah Rodrigues.

Three boundaries across the 10th and 11th overs for Harmanpreet proved a false dawn, and it didn’t help India’s cause that Richa Ghosh — their best bet at overcoming a climbing required rate — simply couldn’t get used to the pace of the pitch. The quicker deliveries rushed her, and the slower ball variations that Aussie quicks deployed deceived her.

The 17th over from Kim Garth decisively swung the match as Harmanpreet, after living on the edge while trying to go for big hits, was caught at cover off a slower delivery. Richa’s uncomfortable stay ended when she danced down the ground attempting to muscle the ball but was stumped off Ash Gardner’s bowling. A 20-ball 19 by India’s most potent finisher summed up their troubles.

It wasn’t a performance without positives. Arundhati Reddy was once more brilliant in the death overs, picking up the big wickets of Beth Mooney and Voll to provide India’s first two breakthroughs after a 128-run opening stand. With all the big-hitters Australia possessed, India didn’t concede a single boundary in the 19th and 20th overs, bowled by Arundhati and Sree Charani.

But on the flip side, it gave Australia the template to tighten the noose when they came out to defend, and they hunted like a pack.