Beth Mooney sits atop the ICC’s batting charts in Women’s T20Is. She showed on Friday night why.
She led Australia’s remarkable chase of what was a challenging total put on by India in the first of the five-match T20I series in front of a large crowd at the D.Y. Patil Stadium. She was unbeaten on 89 (57b, 16x4) when the visitors went past India’s 172 for five with 11 balls to spare.
Mooney’s batting was more about timing, adaptability and determination, and less about reckless hitting. She didn’t smash a single six.
She added 73 for the first wicket with Alyssa Healy (37, 23b, 4x4, 2x6). The partnership ended when Healy, in her first match as captain, was caught at covers by her counterpart Harmanpreet Kaur off a low full toss from Devika Vaidya, returning to the T20I team after eight years.
Then Tahlia McGrath (40 not out, 29b, 4x4, 1x6) joined Mooney and they put on exactly 100 to take Australia home.
Earlier, it was some superb hitting towards the end by
Richa Ghosh (36, 20b, 5x4, 2x6) and Deepti Sharma (36 not out, 15b, 8x4) that ensured India would set up a stiff target for the formidable Australian batting line-up.
After Shafali Verma (21, 10b), Smriti Mandhana (28, 22b) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (21, 23b) failed to capitalise on their good starts – and Jemimah Rodrigues failed to start -- it was imperative that someone put her hand up in the middle order. Two of them did.
Sandwiched between the explosive innings from Richa and Deepti was the quiet assuredness of Devika (25 not out, 24b, 1x4, 1x6).
She added 56 with Richa for the fifth wicket and 40 for the unfinished sixth wicket with Deepti, who took 18 off Megan Schutt in the last over of the innings. Even that wouldn’t prove enough.
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