Blazing fifties from Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney put India to clinch the 3-match series 2-1 on Tuesday. The Indian supporters who turned up at the DY Patil Stadium were heartbroken as Australia thumped the women in blue by 7 wickets in a must-win game. India looked to repeat the feat of 2016 when they last defeated Australia in a T20I series under the leadership of legendary Mithali Raj. But the Aussies had different plans for Tuesday’s face-off. After restricting the hosts to 147/6, the visitors chased down the target with 8 balls remaining.
The opening duo of Healy and Beth Mooney had a blast on their last outing on this tour, adding 85 runs to the first wicket before the Indian skipper was trapped in front by Deepti Sharma in the 10 over. Until then, it was raining sixes and boundaries in Navi Mumbai.
While Healy did the heavy lifting in the partnership, Mooney played the second fiddle as they went past the 50-run mark in the Powerplay. India seemed to be making a stunning comeback when Jemimah Rodrigues took a diving catch at backward point to dismiss the Australian skipper in the 7th over. But the TV replays revealed that the ball made contact with the ground before bouncing into the hands of a diving Rodrigues.
Healy was on 38 when he got another life and she fast-tracked her innings with the help of three more boundaries to get to her 16th fifty in women’s T20Is. Her innings came to an end as she was trapped by Deepti Sharma in front and walked after scoring 55 off 38 deliveries, with the help of 9 fours and a six.
The joy of dismissing the Australian captain was short-lived as the damage was done already. Mooney joined hands with Tahlia McGrath and they looked to seal the game but a little drama unfolded when Pooja Vastrakar took down McGrath and Ellyse Perry on consecutive deliveries.
All of it was a minor tremor as Money top-scored with an unbeaten 55 off 38 balls while in-form Phoebe Litchfield scored 17 not out to defeat India with 8 balls to spare.
Earlier, India suffered a horrific collapse despite a blistering start given by Shafali Verma. She cracked three fours off Kim Garth in the fourth over, adding 39 for the first wicket but against the run of the play the opener was caught behind off Megan Schutt while attempting a slog.
With the responsibility of shepherding a faltering innings falling on Harmanpreet Kaur’s shoulders, the skipper disappointed yet again with the bat. Harmanpreet, who was dismissed for three, registered her sixth single-digit score in as many outings.
India were 51 for 1 after the powerplay but slipped to 66/4 after 10 overs losing wickets in a cluster. But Ghosh’s knock gave India a fresh lease of life as India added 81 runs in the second half. The wicketkeeper-batter smashed three sixes and two fours in her quickfire 28-ball innings before departing in the final over when Ashleigh Gardner cleaned her up.
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