Shafali Verma’s fifty in vain as Australia beat Indian Women’s team by 21 runs to lead T20I series 2-1

After losing their first match of the year 2022, Australian Women’s cricket team bounced back to winning ways with a strong performance in the third T20I at Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday.

Shafali Verma smashed a fifty while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur added 37 runs to the cause, along with a brief cameo from Deepti Sharma whose 25-run cameo went in vain as Australia prevailed by 21 runs. 

Chasing a 173-run target, Indian Women lost vice-captain Smriti Mandhana early who could only score 1 run having smashed 79 runs in the thrilling super over win in the previous game. 

READ| Sara Tendulkar calls herself ‘proudest sister’ after Arjun smashes century on Ranji Trophy debut

Fellow opener Shafali struck a 73-run partnership with skipper Harmanpreet, but once the Indian skipper perished, the Women in Blue faced an uphill task. 

Deepti continued her rich vein of form, smashing a few lusty blows but it proved to be too little too late. 

Australia win the third T20I by 21 runs.#TeamIndia will look to bounce back in the next game

Scorecard https://t.co/jH1N1O1Koc #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/K8MAATKJ8O

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 14, 2022

The hosts could only score 151 runs at the loss of 7 wickets in their respective 20 overs, as Darcie Brown and Ashleigh Gardner picked up a couple of wickets each. 

READ| Virat Kohli becomes highest ranked Indian batsman in ICC ODI rankings, Ishan Kishan jumps 117 spots

Earlier, Harmanpreet won the toss and chose to bowl first, inviting Alyssa Healy’s side to bat first. While the Aussie skipper could only score just a solitary run before getting out, while fellow opener Beth Mooney scored 30 runs. 

Elysse Perry smashed 75 runs in just 47 balls, as she smoked 9 boundaries and three sixes, while Grace Harris also added 41 runs to the cause in just 18 balls, with a strike rate of over 277, helping the Australia women’s side reach 172/8 in 20 overs. 

Indian Women’s team fell short of the required target by 21 runs, as the visitors took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

READ| ‘Test match ODI ki tarah khelta hai’: Rishabh Pant’s brisk 46-run knock in 1st Test vs Bangladesh impresses netizens