Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana’s aggressive 72 (40b, 7x4, 4x6) and her 116-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur (45, 39b, 6x4, 1x6) set up India-A Women’s four-wicket victory with an over to spare in the opening T20 against Australia-A at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground here on Monday.
With the series being played a day prior to the women’s team’s departure for the World T20, India fielded a majority of the Windies-bound cricketers.
Smriti and Harmanpreet’s association for the third wicket ensured India-A overhauled the 161-run target comfortably.
The only stutter India-A had was when Harmanpreet, Anuja Patil, who had excelled with the ball earlier, and D. Hemalatha were dismissed off successive overs to leave the team at 143 for six in the 18th over.
However, all-rounder duo Pooja Vastrakar (21 not out off 9 balls) and Deepti Sharma (11 n.o. off seven balls) ensured India didn’t throw the game away.
Regular wickets
Earlier, India-A bowlers struck regularly. Had it not been for a 78-run partnership for the third wicket between Naomi Stalenberg and Heather Graham, Australia would have struggled to post the eventual total of 160 for six.
The scores: Australia-A Women 160 for six in 20 overs (Heather Graham 43, Naomi Stalenberg 39, Tahila McGrath 31, Anuja Patil two for 22, Deepti Sharma two for 30) lost to India-A Women 163 for six in 19 overs (Smriti Mandhana 72, Harmanpreet Kaur 45, Amanda Jade Wellington two for 34).
