NAVI MUMBAI: It was a night where Indian women's cricket turned another corner.
An unprecedented, packed house of 45,238 cheering fans at the DY Patil Stadium — a new record for the highest attendance in a women's cricket match in the country — was treated to a thriller for the ages on Sunday night as a spirited India pipped Australia by 4 runs in an absolute nerve-wracker via the Super Over to tie the T20I series 1-1. If the BCCI's ambitious inaugural Women's IPL in March needed an advert, the second T20I of this series was a perfect one. The enormity of India's win can be gauged by the fact that it was the mighty Aussies' first defeat in T20Is this year.
Cheered on by a raucous crowd – India, riding on Smriti Mandhana's power-packed 79 (49b, 9x4, 4x6), Shafali Verma's typically brisk 34 (23b, 4x4, 1x6), and a superb finish by Richa Ghosh (26, 13b, 3x6) and Devika Vaidya (11, 5b, 2x4) almost gunned down a daunting 188-run target successfully tying the game and take it to the Super Over.
It was the first time that India were involved in a Super Over, but they showed nerves of steel when it mattered. With Ghosh smashing debutant Heather Graham's first ball for a six over long on and Mandhana smashing a four and six later, India plundered 20 runs off 6 balls. Skipper Alyssa Healy launched Australia's chase with a four, but a superb catch at long-off by Radha Yadav, who has dropped a few chances in this series, off Renuka Thakur saw Ashleigh Gardner's exit. Healy finished with a four and a six, but Australia finished with 16, leaving India worthy winners of a humdinger by 4 runs.
Earlier, Vaidya managed to eke out two fours off Megan Schutt as India, needing 14 for a win of the last over, managed to tie the game by notching up 13. A 76-run opening partnership in just 52 balls between Verma and Mandhana on a batting paradise provided India with the idea platform to almost pull off their biggest successful chase ever, before Mandhana and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (21, 22b, 2x4, 1x6) kept the momentum going with a 61-run stand for the third wicket in just 37 balls.
For the second game in a row, Beth Mooney (82*, 54b, 13x4) and Tahlia McGrath (70*, 51b, 10x4, 1x6) feasted on India's mediocre bowling and fielding lapses, putting on 158 in merely 99 balls for the second wicket-Australia's highest partnership for any wicket in T20Is-to take their team to an imposing score of 187 for 1 in 20 overs in the second T20I of the series on Sunday. It was the Aussies' biggest total in T20Is, surpassing 186-5 they made at the Brabourne Stadium at Mumbai in 2018.
After 2 outings in India, the unstoppable and unbeaten Mooney has scored 171 runs (89* off 57 balls in the first game) in just 111 balls. Thanks to her and McGrath, who had smashed an unbeaten 40 off 29 balls as the pair added 100 for the second wicket in the opening game, Australia's middle-order seems to be on a 'paid holiday' on this tour!
Brief Scores: Australia Women 187-1 (Alyssa Healy 25, Beth Mooney 82*, Tahlia McGrath 70*) vs India Women 187-5 (Smriti Mandhana 79, Shafali Verma 34, Harmanpreet Kaur 21, Richa Ghosh 26*, Heather Graham 3-22)
Super Over: India women 20-1 beat Australia women 16-1
