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Not since 2016 had India won a women’s bilateral series in Australia. And not since 2017 had Australia lost a bilateral assignment at home. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co achieved both those milestones on Saturday at the Adelaide Oval with an impressive all-round performance as they beat the world No 1 in their own backyard to clinch the T20I leg of the multi-format series 2-1. There were no trophies handed out after the match on Saturday (there are points for wins in each of the three formats to decide the overall winner at the end of the Test match in Perth), but this first leg of India’s tour Down Under was the most important, given the T20 World Cup a few months away. Which makes India’s achievement a strong statement – the ODI World Champions are gunning for the 20-over title too.
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The star of the show was vice captain Smriti Mandhana, who struck a fine 82 off 55 balls, and there were important supporting acts, too. In the press conference after India’s defeat in Canberra, head coach Amol Muzumdar was asked about the quick turnaround between the second and third matches and how Mandhana’s knowledge of the venue might help. The Indian opener had played for Adelaide Strikers in the Women’s Big Bash League in 2024-’25. “I was taking some tips right now, actually,” Muzumdar said with a smile.
Smriti-Jemi show
Indeed, Mandhana’s knowledge of the conditions came in handy as she and Jemimah Rodrigues put on a 121-run partnership that laid the foundation for India’s match-winning total of 176/6. Initially, even though she started with a glorious extra cover drive in the first over, Mandhana didn’t quite have the signature fluency in her batting. Losing Shafali Verma in the third over didn’t help either. But Rodrigues got off the blocks quickly when he came in to bat, racing to 28 off 18 balls at a strike rate of nearly 160. The Mumbaikar, however, would struggle to find the boundaries – after a sweetly timed sweep shot for four in the third ball of the 9th over, she’d hit her next one only in the last ball of the 19th. But the early impetus she provided took pressure off of Mandhana and allowed her to get set.
What followed was a masterclass in gap-finding, with lofted sweeps, elegant drives, and backfoot punches. From 15 off 17 at one stage, Mandhana scored 67 off the next 38 balls, which included three sixes. The most pristine of those came in the 12th over, as she picked up a full-length delivery from the pacy Darcie Brown and pinged it over square leg deep into the stands. The sound of the ball leaving the bat was evidence of how well she was timing them. India had lost their way after a similar powerplay in the second T20I, but Mandhana’s frequent boundaries and Rodrigues’ busy rotation of strike kept them on course for a sizeable total.
Shreyanka shines
In the run-chase, Australia were rocked early by Shreyanka Patil, who was brought in for Kranti Gaud. The spinner struck in the second over to remove Georgia Voll and then turned one through Ellyse Perry’s attempted aerial shot down the ground. Perry, playing her 350th international, was one of the earliest to acknowledge Shreyanka’s talent, calling her RCB teammate a ‘special star for the future’ during WPL 2023.
Phoebe Litchfield once again looked dangerous, but Sree Charani had her caught at long off a switch hit and then, when Ash Gardner threatened a late heist with some big-hitting, Arundhati Reddy capped off a wonderful T20I series with another big wicket, thanks to a superb catch by Rodrigues. It was the final blow to Australia’s hopes and, as commentator and former cricketer Lisa Sthalekar put it, India ‘outplayed and out-planned’ the hosts.
Brief scores: India 176/6 (Smriti Mandhana 82, Jemimah Rodrigues 59, Annabel Sutherland 2/34) beat Australia 159/9 (Ash Gardner 57, Shreyanka Patil 3/22, Sree Charani 3/32) by 17 runs
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