Australia Women 172 for 8 (Perry 75, Harris 41, Vaidya 2-22) Indian women 151 for 7 (Shafali 52, Harmanpreet 37, Brown 2-19, Gardner 2-21) by 21 runs
Deepti Sharma’s late goals gave India a glimmer of hope, but Nicola Carey and Megan Schutt coolly closed the game for Australia.
After India opted to bowl at Brabourne Stadium, both Renuka Singh Thakur and Anjali found swing with the new ball. Renuka made the first incision when she hit Alyssa Healy’s front pad in the first over and as Anjali stormed through the defense of newly batted No. 1 T20I batter Tahlia McGrath, Australia were 5 for 2 in the second over.
The double deed
Beth Mooney (30) flickered for a moment, but it was Perry who shot well. Before Wednesday, Perry hadn’t batted in a T20I for Australia since last October, having missed selection for the shortest format at last summer’s Ashes and Commonwealth games. However, Meg Lanning’s personal breakthrough and Rachael Hayes’ retirement paved the way for a T20I return. Perry’s batting wasn’t needed in the first two T20Is, but when Australia really needed it in the third, she produced a half-century off 33 balls.
Perry made regular forays down the field to create scoring chances against India’s spinners. She was particularly strict on Deepti and Radha Yadav, cracking 32 from a combined 16 balls. Perry linked up beautifully with Harris in a 55-run fifth wicket partnership coming off just 31 balls.
Harris’ knocking could have been broken off at 10 if Shafali hadn’t burst through her hands and over the long boundary in the 15th over. Harris continued to search the midwicket and long boundaries before going over in the 19th. Perry’s wicket had also contributed to Australia’s late slide, bringing India back into the match.
Three days after India’s batters beat Australia in a Super-Over thriller, they stretched out to the stragglers again. India lost both Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues in the power play, and Shafali faced all 11 balls for 14 runs during this stage.
However, Shafali broke loose with a slog-sweep six-off legsspinner Alana King in the seventh over and advanced to a promising half-century. She reached a busy 73-run third wicket stand with Harmanpreet Kaur, but her dismissal caused an irreparable collapse. India lost 5 for 40 as Brown and Gardner restored Australia’s command. Perry also threw in with an over, which cost only two runs, helping Australia to get the win she had set.
