Ind W vs Aus W, 4th T20I: Australia beat India by 7 runs, take unassailable 3-1 lead | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Richa Ghosh‘s whirlwind knock of 40* off 19 balls proved not enough as Australia held their nerves in the end to eke out a narrow seven-run win over India and seal the five-match series 3-1 with one game to go.
Chasing a huge 189-run target, Indian openers failed again to give their team a good start with both Smriti Mandhana (16) and Shafali Verma (20) falling inside the powerplay.
But skipper Harmanpreet Kaur used all her experience and kept India in the hunt by adding a 72-run stand with Devika Vaidya for the fourth wicket. The pair took their time and shifted gears once they were set but couldn’t convert their starts into big ones.

Continuing her dream comeback, Perry smashed a blistering 72 not out from 42 deliveries (7×4, 4×6) to power Australia to 188 for 3 after being invited to bat. The visiting side’s captain Alyssa Healy retired hurt after scoring 30 due to a calf injury.
India needed 105 from 54 balls when Harmanpreet stepped it up against Megan Schutt.
The Indian skipper then punished Heather Graham, smashing her four boundaries from five balls in the 13th over that yielded 17 runs to revive the chase.
But Harmanpreet fell four runs shy of her half century as India still needed 68 runs from 34 deliveries when Richa took over.
Needing 38 runs from the last two overs, Richa smashed Heather Graham for two successive sixes and followed it up with a boundary.
Defending 20 runs from the last over, the experience of Megan Schutt came handy as she bowled intelligently to concede just 12 runs. Richa managed just two strikes in the final over with Schutt brilliantly bowling to her field.
Australia suffered a big blow when their skipper Alyssa Healy strained her calf muscle while batting.
Healy cruised to 30 off 21 balls with six fours but on the penultimate ball of the powerplay, she seemed to have strained her calf muscle while trying to pull Deepti Sharma. She limped off the field after the powerplay and did not return to bat.
In Healy’s absence, McGrath led the side, while Beth Mooney donned the wicketkeeping gloves.
Australia were virtually down by three wickets for 46 after Tahlia McGrath was cleaned up by Radha Yadav in the seventh over.
But Healy’s absence was hardly felt as veteran all-rounder Perry continued her dream run with a second successive half century.
The 32-year-old, who struck a 75 in Australia’s 21-run win in the third T20I, along with Ashleigh Gardner took charge of the proceedings.
The duo put on 94 runs off just 59 balls to seize the momentum from the 12th over onwards after being invited to bat.
Gardner smoked three sixes and as many boundaries to lend Perry a perfect support.
After the departure of Gardner in the 17th over, it was Grace Harris who took on the assault as she made a quick-fire 27 not out from 12 deliveries (1×6, 1×4) to continue to pile misery on the Indians.
Perry, who was earlier axed from Australia’s T20 side apparently for slow batting, used her feet well to the Indian spinners and drove powerfully.
With Perry and Gardner in full charge, Australia scored 115 runs in the last nine overs to prop up their total. India’s sloppy fielding also continued to let them down. The home side had a chance to run out Perry on 12 when she struggled to complete a run.
It was a fine throw from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur from the extra cover, but Radha Yadav fumbled at the non-striker’s end.
(With PTI Inputs)