After Deepti Sharma (36* out of 15) and Richa GoshLate onslaught (36 from 20) propelled India to Australian opener 172/5 Beth Mooney made a mockery of Indian bowling with his emphatic 89-from-57 unbeaten run and brought the visitors home with 11 balls remaining.
Mooney broke 16 fours during her time in the middle and was helped by Tahlia McGrath29 undefeated balls from 40, which included four limits and two sixes.
Australia win first #INDvAUS T20I. #TeamIndia will look to bounce back in Game 2 of the series. 👍 👍… https://t.co/ZbqG1HFYWp
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) 1670603738000
Chasing a tough target, Australia’s formidable opening pair of skipper Alyssa Healy and Mooney gave Australia the start they needed, adding 73 runs in just under nine overs.
Healy and Mooney played some great shots during their scintillating partnership to put India’s bowlers under pressure.
To make matters worse, Radha Yadav caught Renuka Singh back, giving Mooney a life as the batter was 4 in the Australian innings.
If the lost catches weren’t enough, India’s fielding was poor overall.
Vaidya, playing her first T20I since debuting in 2014, made the first breakthrough when she had Healy caught by Harmanpreet.
Thanks to DY Patil Stadium for starting the T20I series between Indian women and Australian women in style 👏 👏Than… https://t.co/qToLywjSuc
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) 1670605697000
The skipper’s loss, for a 37 from 23 balls, failed to disrupt Australia’s momentum as Mooney found a capable ally in Tahlia McGrath.
It was almost over for India after Mooney took 18 runs in the 15th to take the equation from 55 runs on 36 balls to just 37 runs in the final five overs.
Earlier, Sharma broke four successive boundaries in the final, beaten by Megan Schutt to boost India’s run rate after Richa Ghosh and returning Devika Vaidya (25 from 24) added 56 runs for the fifth wicket.
India got off to a flying start with teenager Shafali Verma smashing Megan Schutt for a four and a six over in the first inning which resulted in 12 runs.
Veteran Smriti Mandhana (28 from 22) cut off debutant Kim Garth for a four, before Shafali hit Ellyse Perry offside for her second maximum, one ball after an inside edge passed the keeper to a limit.
However, Perry got her revenge when she squeezed Shafali for room on the leg side and the batter ended up giving skipper Alyssa Perry a hold. It was the fourth time Perry had fired the 18-year-old Indian powerhouse hitter.
Mandhana, who has a strong record against the Australians, showed her class when she scored four limits off Garth, the flurry of four taking India to 45 for one in just four overs.
The 17-run fourth was followed by the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues, who succumbed to pressure after four runs from Perry, the batter’s ill-timed shot landing in the hands of Annabel Sutherland.
Schutt was brought down after a maiden at the wicket by Perry, and she conceded just three runs to hold India at 48 for two at the end of six overs on the power play at DY Patil Stadium.
Healy featured Ashleigh Gardner’s off-spin bowling, and Harmanpreet Kaur (21 of 23) drove her through covers for her first boundary.
Healy made another bowling change and it worked as Sutherland had the well-tuned Mandhana caught by Mooney to the point of a rather soft dismissal.
After a few quiet overs, Harmanpreet fired Sutherland for a welcome boundary.
However, Garth had Harmanpreet’s precious scalp – his first for Australia after representing Ireland for a decade – when the India captain played away from his body and hit him straight to the field from cover.
The duo of Ghosh and Vaidya then took over.
(With PTI inputs)
