Both Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh dealt in sixes.
Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh starred with the bat to give India a stunning win in the second T20I against Australia on Sunday (December 11) to level the five-match series 1-1. Mandhana and Ghosh put on a six-hitting spectacle in front of a packed crowd at the DY Patil Stadium that helped India tie the game before prevailing in the ensuing Super Over.
After another disappointing outing with the ball (just two wickets in two games), India were heavily reliant on their batting unit to give them series parity. Mandhana gave them a positive start by sweeping a delivery for a boundary in the first over of the chase. Three more boundaries came off the left-hander’s bat in the second over as she sent out an early statement. Shafali Varma soon joined the party as India raced to 55 in just six overs.
With the boundaries flowing, Alana King gave Australia a timely breakthrough by breaking the 76-run partnership and in the very next over, Jemimah Rodrigues followed Varma to the pavilion. Harmanpreet Kaur got going very early with a four and a six much to the delight of the crowd but Australia managed to keep her quiet thereafter. Mandhana kept India in the chase during the middle overs by regularly clearing the boundary on the leg side. India appeared to be in the driver’s seat when they needed 55 from the final five overs but both set batters were dismissed in the space of five deliveries to hand Australia the advantage.
However, the world champions were stunned by what followed suit. Ghosh hammered a full toss for a huge six straight down the ground to help the crowd find their voice again and followed it up with two more sixes in the following over to bring the equation down to 18 off 12. A see-saw battle ensued in the final moments leaving India five to get from the final delivery. Megan Schutt, who bowled an excellent last over, found the yorker again but Devika Vaidya managed to dig it out and find the boundary to force a Super Over.
The two batters who lit up the night were at it again in the Super Over and helped India post 20 on the board. Even though Alyssa Healy threatened to spoil the party by smashing the first ball to the boundary, Renuka Singh stormed back in style to close out the game in India’s favour.
Earlier in the evening, a familiar outcome was in store for the Indian bowlers. Beth Mooney continued from where she left off the other night. It was Healy who got Australia off to a rapid start by finding the boundary five times inside the first 14 balls of the innings and that forced India to introduce Deepti Sharma very early into the attack. The ploy worked as Healy mistimed a short and wide delivery to get caught at short third. But from thereon, it was one-way traffic as the Indian bowlers struggled to pick wickets once again.
Tahlia McGrath, who received a reprieve, fetched three boundaries to get going and by the end of the sixth over, Mooney had made only 6 off 9. Her very first boundary came only in the eighth over as a result of a top edge before she finally got a clean connection in the following over. While Mooney’s strike rate continued to be less than 100, McGrath’s timely boundaries kept Australia on top.
Mooney finally turned on the heat in the 13th over by targetting Radha Yadav as she smashed three boundaries to finally guide her SR beyond 100. Consecutive boundaries off Renuka then followed in the next over as Australia threatened to post a huge total. McGrath brought up her fifty with a six and Mooney got to her landmark in the very next over by fetching successive boundaries again. Mooney then smashed a hat-trick of fours in the penultimate over to entertain minor hopes of a century before Renuka closed out the innings in fine fashion.
Brief scores: Australia Women187/1 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 82*, Tahlia McGrath 70*) tied with India Women 187/5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 79, Shafali Varma 34; Heather Graham 3/22) – India won the Super Over
